28% of Americans don’t think Sarah Palin is an Idiot

That was a hoot. All those people reading my little blog and getting so upset. Who knew there were so many people who still enjoy hearing Palin talk? Then again who knew Palin supporters were smart enough to read?

There sure were a lot of comments about how old I am. You want in on a little secret? The picture on the top there was taken several years ago. I look even older now. But I still have my figure! Now Margaret, on the other hand, looks terrific. She walks everyday. Eats right. She’ll out live the whole lot of us.

My favorite thing about young people is that they never look back. They are always looking ahead. That’s why when they see someone like me – and by “like me” I mean old – they see a life almost over instead of the life that has been lived. If I could give them just one piece of advice it would be to make sure you get to the end of your life with no regrets. Don’t misinterpret. I didn’t say with no mistakes. I said no regrets. If the worst thing I have done in this world is calling Sarah Palin a bitch then I haven’t lived much of a life. And if it’s the best thing I’ve done then I would have a lot of regrets.

I lived through McCarthyism. I don’t recall anyone being asked to shut up. As I remember it, the tactic was to use people’s words and writings and their relationships with others to suggest that they were unpatriotic, unAmerican and a communist sympathiser. Now who does that sound like? Oh yes, an aging beauty queen from Alaska who became governor because a whopping 114,697 Alaskans voted for her. She beat her opponent by 17,000 votes which is almost twice the population of the town that elected her Mayor. And she got a national platform because McCain was desperate to get support from the Republican base – otherwise known as the 28% of Americans who still think Bush is doing a good job.

When someone is talking during a movie, I ask them to be quiet. If they are on their cell phone, I tell them to shut the hell up. When a radio station plays music I don’t like, I change the station. When a news station gives platform to someone like Sean Hannity or Ann Coulter, I tell them to shut the hell up. In my day, the local and national news shows went to great lengths to let you know when they were providing an editorial or opinion piece rather than reporting the news. Only newspapers seem to do that these days and even then it can be hard to tell when you have left the news pages and started into the editorials. Rush Limbaugh – not news. Not fair and balanced. Certainly not excellence in broadcasting – now that one’s a real laugh riot. Rush Limbaugh is like me – old, fat and opinionated. The difference is that I am also funny while he is just old and fat. Neither of us is news.

You know back in school I loved science. Most girls hated the day the frogs arrived. I loved it. Dissecting them to see how they worked. Fascinating. I think that is why I like writing this blog so much. For me it’s not about what I have written, it’s about the comments that follow. I read each one of them to see how everyone reacts to what I have written. And that last batch was a doozy.

This 28% of America intrigues me. I really would like to figure out how they work. So I began to dissect the comments. A lot of it was child’s play. Sticks and stones sort of stuff. Like the following comment:

“You Silly dummies!”

My, my but there is a blog I would love to read. It’s a shame she didn’t leave an address. Kind of reminded me of our old friend John McCain. He wanted to be mean but he really wasn’t very good at it.

And let’s get the really stupid stuff out of the way. It took this “senile old bitty” about 1 minute to research and discover that, in fact, Barack Obama is a U.S. born citizen with an authentic birth certificate. I mean, my God people, that is the best you can do? At least give your beloved Sarah Palin some credit. If the guy wasn’t even legally qualified to run, that idiot would have surely made that her stump speech rather than some hard to follow, loose association with a college professor named William Ayers. Enough with the birth certificate already. At least uncover an illegal war or approved torture inside the military before you get your panties all in a tangle.

Oh and one more thing. That Messiah bit. The Chosen one. How about we wait until he actually walks on water before we start heaping those kinds of expectations on him. However, he has performed one miracle to date – He became America’s first black President. He didn’t turn water into wine but he did manage to turn North Carolina from Red to Blue. That has to count for something.

Now some of the comments actually were a little more interesting.

One person first writes that he is shocked at my hate speech because I called a few politicians idiots and morons. But then he goes on to write this about every politician:

“Everyone since ol’ Abe has been a lying scumbag. Not a good one in the whole bunch.”

So I guess it just shades of gray. Idiots and morons is hate speech but lying scumbags is a love fest. I wonder if he read my earlier rants when I called them bitches and asses. I guess that would be considered really-hate speech requiring my immediate execution. I do appreciate his broad sweeping approach to it though. Not just Obama but EVERY politician since “ol’ Abe”. Good Ol’ Abe. Did I mention that Abe and I used to date? I’m almost 83. Quick. Do the math.

Here’s one that requires a little more studying to get. See if you can find the hypocrisy. It’s not apparent at first but it’s there:

“You and your cronies are obviously uneducated sheep and think that the constitution is something that to take lightly, well I don’t. If you are not part of the solution than you are part of the problem. At least those people that you bashed are trying to educate people and protect your rights. They do, whether you like or not, have the people of this great country at heart. Not so much can be said for you. You are the one that needs to sit down and shut up! Reep what you sow!”

Ignore the spelling and grammer errors. I’m sure she was typing fast and trying to read the bible at the same time so we’ll give her the benefit of the doubt. Although she does like Palin so quite a bit of doubt should exist. But did you see it there at the end? The part where I am the one who needs to sit down and shut up. According to her, I am bad because I told Sarah Plain to sit down and shut up. So to let me know just how bad it is that I have taken the constitution so lightly (read: Free Speech), my punishment should be to sit down and shut up. That and I need to “Reep what I sow.”

Hypocrisy can be kind of tricky. She almost pulled it off as well as Rush, Sean and Ann. But let’s give her a break. After all, those other guys have had years of practice. However, she did make me think. When you have an outlet like Rush and Sean that gives you an audience day in and day out to millions who think you are there to report the news… well then the expression “As you sow, so shall you reap” takes on some real meaning because those guys are sowing a bunch of seeds. And the rest of us have to live with the “what you reap” part.

But of all the comments that were left. My favorite was from someone called simply “The Watcher”. Sounds so mysterious. Kind of like Big Brother. He started off pretty good when he wrote this:

“I guess it’s true. There are people who do not get wiser with age, instead, they get more bigoted and more opinionated, and more blind. I don’t blame it on age, though. Somewhere in your life you chose those qualities to embrace. I hope some day you wake up and dump them.”

Not bad. At first I thought he might be a nice young man who was just caught off guard by my sailor mouth. Seemed even intelligent compared to most of your run-of-the mill Sarah Palin supporters. He left a few more messages. They too were not bad:

“Palin is a woman, and a classy lady. Love her politics or hate them, it matters none, nothing even vaguely as crass and vile has ever come from her. The real sign of intellect, is being able to use the other person’s words and ideas against them – with honesty and truth. This rabid propaganda is not the work of an admirable person, but of a bitter, angry, spite-filled narcissist.”

OK. Forget that part about Plain being a classy lady. I mean that is just stupid. But the rest of it is pretty good, don’t you think? That part about using the other person’s words against them. Now folks, you have to admit, that is good writing. I really thought the two of us might even become friends. But then he had to go and write this:

“Pity them. Their sense of betrayal when they discover Obama is not who and what they think will be painful to see. Strong people are not threatened by the failure of others. These people don’t even have a soul. “

Ouch. That “no soul” part really stings. Kind of reminds me of our old friend Elizabeth Dole and her “godless American” attack against her opponent. Note to The Watcher: she lost that election.

I gotta tell ya folks. You tell someone to shut up and sit the hell down and what you are really saying is that you don’t want to hear their nonsense anymore. You are tired of their ripping the country apart all in the name of rating wars and advertising dollars. But when you tell someone that they have no soul… well that ‘s just downright mean. Don’t cha think? By golly. You betcha!

Thanks for stopping by everyone. Sorry you had to see all that mess along the way. I think some of you deserve a piece of pie for how you handled it all. Thank goodess Margaret was out of town. I hope you still want to come back again. Really. I mean it.

Responses

There are certainly a whole lot of particulars like that to take into consideration. That may be a nice level to deliver up. I supply the thoughts above as normal inspiration but clearly there are questions just like the one you deliver up the place the most important thing shall be working in trustworthy good faith. I don?t know if finest practices have emerged round things like that, however I am sure that your job is clearly recognized as a fair game. Both boys and girls feel the influence of just a moment’s pleasure, for the rest of their lives.

If you pay taxes to the government and the government then give you social programs like Healthcare Medicare Welfare and better schools and fight for equal rights. YOU ARE TO THE LEFT! If you pay taxes to the government and the government then want to start wars that they don’t pay for. Wants to turn Healthcare over to Wall Street attack and blame and laid off teachers fire police officer and firemen and women! YOU ARE TO THE RIGHT! If you believe in equal right for all American! YOU ARE TO THE LEFT! If you are against women “right to choose” and against gay marriage against legalizing weed! YOU ARE TO THE RIGHT! Today right wing conservative Republican Tea Party people are against the rebuilding re-tooling of America under President Obama! They want their country back they want government to stay out of social security! YOU ARE TO THE RIGHT! Today left wing liberal Democrat want to stabilize the country putting the power in the people hands! Too close to corporate America too close of oversea businesses! YOU ARE TO THE RIGHT! Not telling the American people your achievement under President Obama! YOU ARE TO THE LEFT! Passing a 350 billion dollar stimulus package and not explaining where or what you did with the money! YOU ARE TO THE RIGHT! What is so wrong with left right consevative liberal Republican Democrat! You the American citizen are asked to be on the side of one of the two! AGAIN…..If you pay taxes to the government and the government then give you social programs like Healthcare Medicare Welfare and better schools and fight for equal rights. YOU ARE TO THE LEFT! If you pay taxes to the government and the government then want to start wars that they don’t pay for. Wants to turn Healthcare over to Wall Street attack and blame and laid off teachers fire police officer and firemen and women! YOU ARE TO THE RIGHT!

I think Sarah Palin on top of being plain stupid is a hypocrite, she is a hired hand of the Republican Party to say what she is told to say! She’s on a 15 day tour of spreading hate and attacking President Obama, she never was a hockey mom, you can’t be at your kids hockey game when you’re in Las Vegas. I always thought Palin was a idiot, but since she quit her job, and turned into a paid spokesman for the racist “Republican Tea Party” she prove it.She smelled money,and fame over the American people,she has lost self respect and that of a lot of people. It’s too bad she let the almighty dollar ruin her life and now her kids life! I wonder who watches the kids while the mom and daughter are doing the Hollywood scene. Sarah Palin is a direct reflection of white Republicans……phoney! Un American and stupid is an understatement when talking about Sarah Palin. Today on the “View” Levi Johnston was interview his claim to frame was impregnating Sarah Palin underage daughter. Now the 20 year old unemployed high school drop out Levi is running for Mayor! He is just as stupid as Sarah Palin! But the women on the View didn’t asked any hard question. They made light of his ignorance and creating a child he does not see or take care of financially! Whoopie even stated that she didn’t want people to see him as a joke! Sarah Palin came on the scene and attack and made false allegation about Senator Obama. Then did a interview and the world saw she was a idiot and should never be near the White House! After the interview Sarah Palin blame her lack of knowledge and stupidity on the interviewer! Levi didn’t do that he just stated I DON’T KNOW!

*******
My father (now deceased) was a minister. And was known for slapping his congregation upside their collective heads. . . he really upset some folks with one of his sermons when he talked about the fact that 1) God is not Santa Claus, and 2) prayer is not wish list, and 3) sometimes God says NO.
To this day, I remember that sermon and the reaction of the congregants. And to this day, when someone goes on and on about why God didn’t answer their prayer (granted their wish) I often find myself echoing Dad’s sentiments – “Maybe God said NO and you refused to listen.”

One of your readers said, “At least those people that you bashed are trying to educate people and protect your rights.”

They are tring to educate people?!? Educate them about what? How to lie, cheat and steal without getting caught? Didn’t Caribou Barbie goe to 5 or 6 schools to get a 2 year degree? Didn’t her 2 oldest children drop out of high school? Where is the logic? Caribou Barbie got her degree in journalism and cannot string together a sentence?
Helen, I know you live in TX, and I’m stuck here in TN. But these rabid Palin fans must come from the south. You know, where they never want to spend any kind of money on education. It just simply boggles the mind, people who think she is a great politician. You don’t even need an education, just reality and common sense! Jeez.

Sgime: My mother is 86 & dissected frogs in H.S. -she went on to become an RN & had to dissect a cat in nursing school (which she had to hunt up on the streets outside her school…yeah, real nice, but true, nevertheless!)

Helen, you make me laugh so hard. There really is no use trying to talk sense to the knuckle dragging 25% percenters (ie: Elisabeth Hasslebeck). The Iraq war was a good thing, George Bush is misunderstood, everything is Clinton’s fault, Palin will be president in 2012 and there is a war on Christmas. The remaining 75 percent in this country needs to try and work together to clean up the mess as well as creating a better future for our children and grandchildren.

Greytdog-
I really appreciated your personal illustration, in your mom, of the point that while some activity may not be common, it doesn’t mean it is not occuring .
My dad , an early and practising proponent of outdoor science education, hiked his 7th and 8th graders all over the real landscape of biology, geology, botany, etc and by the early 50s had them making and using simple solar ovens to cook their picnic lunches. While it is now common for that age group, dad ticked off the high school by teaching his kids algebra because they were ready for that next step. I remember one big flap with a high school administrator who actually WHINED ” we don’t know what to do with those kids now…” to which my pop , Mr Practical, simply answered “Move ’em on to the NEXT step… they are ready. Age appropriate curriculum is a guide , not a law.”

“In fact she was so enthralled with the discovery of science in her life she actually thought about medicine as a possible career, but instead answered her life’s calling to be a minister.”
Your mom sounds like one of the jewels all we ladies can point to as we move forward…A multi-faceted shining example of a well rounded, well lived life. Helen shines with a similar light in her sharp insightful comment… and Margaret, in her quieter way, too.

..most excellent rebuttal of all the crackpots who didn’t get what they want for Christmas; another four years of aimless dog paddling… You are truly a breath of fresh air! Your newest regualr reader!!!
Grantman

SIGME, dontcha worry your head about the dissecting frogs. . . my mother is older than Margaret and Helen, and her HS class dissected frogs. In fact she was so enthralled with the discovery of science in her life she actually thought about medicine as a possible career, but instead answered her life’s calling to be a minister. Nonetheless, science has been a mainstay in our family life – from dissecting countless roadkill to archeological digs. . . I’ll never forget the weekend when my dad brought home a couple of dead snakes, and my mom immediately turned that icky situation into an educational occasion . . . imagine, three kids with biology books, carefully dissecting snakes on the dining room table and calling out body parts. . . when the women’s bible study group walks in. . . hysterical!

Well said, Greytdog. I kinda bumbled my way through my response last night that I’ve been a feminist for more than 40 years, I know what a feminist is NOT, such as Palin, but you explained beautifully why Palin is not one.

Jes wrote: Palin wasn’t someone I agreed with politcally, but had she been politically left and a Democrat, most liberals would have loved her and considered her to be brilliant,

*****
Uh wrong. If Palin espoused the same divisive rhetoric, group think, and inherent fascism as a political leftie as she did as the Republican/Rightwing Conservative Christian candidate, she would have not had a national platform in the Democratic Party. We love our lefties, yes, but we appreciate the fact that they are usually articulate, capable of critical thought analysis, and erudite. Anyone can spew hatred in soundbites as Palin proved; we prefer, as indicated by the election of Sen. Obama as the POTUS, a person who not only can grasp multilevel and complex concepts, but actually see the forest and the trees as a whole.

I have been a great fan of yours, Ladies. And will continue to be one, however you threw me with the comment about dissecting frogs in school. Dissecting frogs didn’t become common in colleges until the 1920s, and it wasn’t common in high schools until much later. I’ve always had a niggling you might not be as you appear, and this little detail would seem to support that. It makes me sad because I love the blog and really enjoy your commentaries.

Thank you everyone for such great postings – even some of the pro Palin people.

Why do we love to bash Palin? It’s not hate, it’s that she is irritating and helped run a dirty campaign. There was a posting during Helen’s last blog about shutting up Sarah Palin from rshalomw, started off about us “haters of Palin” and then went on into quoting the Bible and how this life is a “mist”, etc. It was beautiful research, but to the religious people so in love with Palin, I ask you, does she get a free pass at breaking the ninth Commandment of God, “Thou shalt NOT bear false witness against thy neighbor” while she twisted words as she condemned Obama.

Also, as I am a mother of 4 grown children, I couldn’t see how she could put her ambition of running for office before her responsibility to care for her new baby and young children in the safe and nurturing confines of home instead of the gypsy life on the campaign trail.

It is such a pleasure to bask in your wit and unfettered comments. Like many others, I want to grow up to be like you delighting my grandchildren and embarrassing my kids. You are like the Maxine character we all enjoy, just better looking!

You make me laugh. It is not that you hate, it’s that you are fed up and sick and tired of the past eight years and anyone who will continue with more of the same. And so your comments are what we think with some colorful interjections.

TimWarp also made me LOL:
“We had Thanksgiving this year at a neighbor’s house. One of the couples had just moved back from Alaska. They said they had voted for Palin for Governor because (a) she was so much better than her EXTREMELY corrupt opponent, and (b) they had NO CLUE she was such a frickin’ radical moron.”

Mean, yes, but funny. Palin is such a colorful character with so many booboos, she is easily a favorite target of jokes and comedians.

So to those who get offended, this isn’t the place for you. I don’t go checking out the Obama bashing blogsites because I don’t need to look for places that upset me.

And by the way, if you Obama bashers are still stuck on the birthplace of our next President, Hawaii became the 50th state in 1959. He was born here, spent most of his formative young years here attending and graduating from one of the best of our schools.

Here in Hawaii, he had a childhood atypical of most young black men. Although we have discrimination here, it’s not anything like he would have faced on the Mainland. We are most of us “colored” (and proud of it), although we don’t say “colored”, we say we are Japanese, Filipino, Chinese, Hawaiian or Haole (white). In fact, Obama would be considered “hapa” – half half. He is a child of Hawaii, and we are so proud to call him one of ours.

Thanks to all who have taken on the trolls. I guess they have to be addressed in the language they understand. I just feel like people who choose not to find out about Obama or not to see Ms. Palin’s shortcomings kind of choose it and there is no convincing them. So, Elsie, Juneaujoe, Alska pi, Whirled Peas, smteaches, and everybody else who took on this task, it is uplifting to see that you have been trying to reason with the unreasonable. Thanks all! You go Helen, on to the next post! We are not going to be shut up!

i accidentally listened to rush for 15-20 minutes last week while working and counted 7 ads for payday lenders trying to lure his listeners into an endless cycle of debt. the far right not only keeps it’s followers ignorant and misinformed- they try to suck the poor into poverty. nice. talk about hypocrisy in action. that is the perfect metaphor for the arrogant way the right wing view the public- walking profit centers. palin and people like her are dangerous to the ethical integrity of america.

Gille had to work on Thanksgiving so we made our turkey on Tuesday instead, and on the day itself sat down with our neighbors at their table. It’s just the two of us so we had lots of leftovers and Gille made her unbelievable turkey soup. I used Thursday morning to make about 150 tollhouse-white chocolate-macadamia nut-oatmeal cookies and distributed them around the neighborhood and to my customers. I also made a monster batch that we took to the Kihei Youth Center Thanksgiving meal and they went over pretty well.

I suppose there are conservative blogs out there – my days are pretty full so I don’t bother to read them – besides, as you so admirably point out, the posts would likely be more of the same tired, dumb stuff that got it into the messes we’re in now. I wonder, though, if the liberal posters on those blogs are as vituperative and vile as the so called conservatives that post here. I also wonder if they are as fast and loose with the simple facts of history. I would hope not but I couldn’t really say. As my mama says, just let it roll off your back.

We’re freezing a bunch of the soup (Gille made about eight gallons!) so should you be in Maui sometime soon we’ll be sure to pull it out for you. I’ll also have some hot cookies ready.

Helen, I don’t know what to say other than I adore you! One comment on age (I’m a “young” 51)… the older one gets, the easier it is for one to cut through the BS and see the light…. that is if one’s eyes are open. And yours are definately open!

On Salon.com recently they had a printed transcript of some of Sarah Palin’s interviews. You think it’s painful to watch her interviews, it’s truly painful to try to read one. And I mean try, as in it’s damned impossible to find any sort of coherent message in the jumble of words that tumble from her lips.

Well, the GOP gets to keep their boy in Georgia. No real shocker there. I guess they have to win a little something, kind of like a consolation prize.

We are going to miss our Governor, Bill Richardson, here in New Mexico. He has done more for this State than anyone since the aliens visited Roswell!

I guess you’ve seen the “Greater Tuna” trilogy….. first time I saw the first one I thought, “Oh my God, I know ALL those people!” I’d love to see how much fun they’d have writing in a character like Sarah!

Again, you’ve filled in the gap left by the passing of Molly Ivans and Ann Richards.

I’m with you. Why are there people that still question Obama’s status as a citizen? Even Fox “news” agrees that he was born in this country. Goes to show you that 28% of Americans are just too stupid. Bless their souls, they can’t help it. They were just born like that. You know, unable to think for themselves and other important things like that. Makes me glad they were outnumbered this time.

That pie and brownies sound so good! I just had salmon and yogurt for dessert. Pie sounds wonderful.

The way the Right Wing is pushing the birth certificate issue on President Obama, we could push the IQ score, until they prove differently. Until I see the real paper – IT IS TRUE! (That sounds like Rush actually.)

The Right Wing Trolls are sure fun to watch squirm.
They smell funny too! Anybody else smell it when a Troll shows up? Can’t quite figure out the smell though.

I’ve spent the last 90 min. reading the comments to Helen’s latest & greatest — and responding to a few — but I’ll have to save the rest for another day. I’ve got many chores to be done before I call it a day & rest my weary head.

tsfiles: Not to worry…apparantly, without all the paperwork you listed, Obama doesn’t even exist.

Gee, I’m not sure I can trust a president who hasn’t published a Certificate of Baptism. Quick, someone throw a glass of water on him! Wait, make sure there’s a notary public standing by who can document the incident!

ts, I’m overly-tired of naysayers creating all this BS because you can’t find anything of substance to attack in Obama’s character or his actions.

JB – what I like best about this site is people like you. Helen, a simple blogger not connected to any mainstream news site or media organization to promote her, writes so well and is so completely brilliant in her posts that morons like you are drawn here like moths to a flame or rats to cheese. You have to comment and continue to comment, all the while completely unable to produce anything as brilliant as Helen. If you are so spot on about liberals and about Obama, I would think you would have your own blog attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors. But alas… you’re just a moronic ass who visits here giving me extra entertainment for my own visits. The best part, however, is that your being here actually makes Helen’s blog more popular. Every hit, every comment and she goes up another notch in the blogoshpere. I guess we should actually thank you for leaving your ill-informed comments. It means the rest of us will continue to get more of Helen.

elsie (12/2, 5:53 pm) “Let’s hope that Bush Jr. goes off to play with his presidential library…”

I heard he’s asked Booker Elementary School to donate its copy of “The Pet Goat”.

(Aside to Helen/Matthew: Personally, I like the no-ads thing about this space. Sorta like the old PBS, where corporate *messages* don’t get their 30 seconds of time to sway the minds of the viewing public.)

You like Sarah Palin b/c she’s a fresh face inthe world of currupted and old politicians…okay, I’ll give you the fact that she’s not old, but she IS as corrupt a politician as ever drew a paycheck from the public coffers. You have GOT to do a little more research.

You believe downing SP is CLOSEMINDED? SP believes you and I are going to hell if we don’t share her religious beliefs, she tried to ban books from the Wasilla library that didn’t coincide with her Judeo-Christian beliefs, she refused to allow public schools in her state to teach young people about birth control (talk about reaping what you sow), she’s trying to legislate that birth control be classified as a form of abortion, she believes she’s in office b/c she knows God’s will for us all, she fired everyone who disagreed with her or questioned her in any way when she took office, and she legislates based on her religious beliefs rather than on Constitutional ethics. In fact, if you look up “CLOSEMINDED” in Webster’s dictionary, I believe you’ll find “Sarah’s Doctrine” alongside a picture of her young face.

You said if we gave you something positive about her it would make our argument that she is a dim person so much better. So here’s the positive:

1 – She apparantly enjoys spending time with her darling children (afterall, she spends taxpayers money in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to clothe them, accessorize them, put them on Alaska’s payroll by paying them to conduct official state business such as attending basketball tournaments and she schleps them all over the country with her — on our dime — so they can stump for her ’12 campaign, too.)

2 – She apparantly has good fashion sense (afterall, it cost US citizens nearly half a million dollars to clother her and her family for six weeks)

4 – She apparantly cares about the physical health and well-being of Alaskan citizens (afterall, she spent millions of dollars to build a sports center on land that didn’t belong to Wasilla, leaving Waillans — who had a budget surplus when she took office — millions of dollars in debt & in legal battles – but a bit healthier)

I could give you more positives, but I’ve got dishes in the sink calling my name. Anyway, if you don’t understand by now how DIM Ms. Palin is, you never will. Being young and fresh-faced doesn’t make you qualified & intelligent…or innocent of corruption…if it did, we’d have voted on a Jonas/Hilton ticket.

“It should be pretty obvious: We make fun of Palin because it’s so EASY! And she keeps giving us ammunition!

McCain lost too, and nobody’s making fun of him.”

The only pure ammo (other than Palin) that McCain ever gave us was his overuse of the phrase “My Friends.” Theres only so much you can do with that phrase, and it gets boring after a while making fun of his senility and one catch phrase. Palin on the other hand is the giving tree that keeps on giving and giving and giving and giving…….. and giving (I would type more but you get the point)!

“It should be pretty obvious: We make fun of Palin because it’s so EASY! And she keeps giving us ammunition!

McCain lost too, and nobody’s making fun of him.”

In fact McCain went to New Dehli and has been meeting regarding the terrorist attacks in India, asking for transparency from Pakistan in investigating the possibility that the militant groups originated from there…so is Liebermann (staying out of trouble and showing revelence I suppose)…but I think this is more important than trying to stump for yourself while stumping for someone else. McCain has said he will run again in 2010 for his Senate seat.

If Palin was doing more of her duties as Governor and less self-marketing, perhaps there would be less derision…..nyaaaah. It’s too much fun, you betchya!

“Palin wasn’t someone I agreed with politcally, but had she been politically left and a Democrat, most liberals would have loved her and considered her to be brilliant, of that I have no doubt. She was everything that the feminist movement has said a woman like me could be”

No. Nope. Uh uh. Nada. Nein. Nyet. Boy are you clueless. She’s an embarrasment, no matter which party. Do you really not get that?

tsfiles-

There’s a good reason ALL of Obama’s past documentation is missing. The truth is, Obama was born and raised on the planet Krypton and he plans, along with his fellow terrorist Kryptonites, to take over this great nation of ours, steal all your guns and daughters, and force all of your sons into gay marriages with Muslims. Duh. Isn’t it obvious?

“If Palin would have been on the Dems side and displayed that kind of stupidity we would have called for her head. (and possibly voted for the green party… )”

ROFLMAO!!! I would hope that if the information about a female Dem VP candidate came out similar to this that female Dem’s would not flock to her…I think voting for her because she is a woman is the dumbest thing I have ever heard as well as insulting to the intelligence of women period.

Let us be honest, she was Forrest Gump in a dress and missing the charm, compassion and wit.

To hfjj1031: don’t forget to scoop your poop before you leave!
And thank you for showing all of us what close-mindedness, vileness, and stupidity are ~ you’ve set a very good example. In fact, I’d say you’re a shining example because you obviously ARE what you speak (or write,)

To Matthew: You’re doing a heckuva job, kiddo! Your grandmother must be pleased as punch with you ~ and all of us here sitting around and enjoying the pie and coffee, we thank you very much for your hard work.
Now then, where’s the recipe section?

People continue to discuss Palin b/c she’s obviously already started her ’12 campaigning. (Or should I say she’s continuing her ’12 campaigning, since that’s what she’s been doing all along anyway.)

The good news is, she has four years to prove how inarticulate, inexperienced, ruthless, and corrupt she really is…so whether or not we discuss her here, her straight-talk express will do nothing but spin it’s wheels to nowhere.

Again, I hope you all will join me in boycotting Barbara Walter’s “Ten Most Fascinating People of the Year” show this Thursday night. The only thing fascinating about Palin & Limbaugh is how the hell they’ve managed to become multi-millionaires convincing people that they speak/stand for truth and political righteousness.

She was just in GA (um, where I live) at the gwinnett arena promoting that dooshbag saxby chamblice…actually, i dont have an opinion of him. anyway, i think SNL has influenced people to think shes a raging idiot, but i thought she fended for herself pretty well. plus she’s darn funny! oh wait…was that…Tina Fey?
…

“Liberals thinking they’re smarter than conservatives. Conservatives thinking they’re smarter than liberals. So much for change. Not that it wasn’t just a campaign slogan anyway.

Sites like this could use a lot more love and a lot less fingerpointing, ad hominem attacks, and hatred. Palin wasn’t someone I agreed with politcally, but had she been politically left and a Democrat, most liberals would have loved her and considered her to be brilliant, of that I have no doubt. She was everything that the feminist movement has said a woman like me could be; a wife, a mother, have an important job, be active in politics, etc… This is nothing but hatred over disagreeing on political issues, which is a real shame.

Sometimes I hope this country is destroyed and sent to the dust bin of history. Given many of the comments I’ve read here, it’s what it would deserve”

First things first… Bush used change as a campaign slogan in 2000, McCain picked up a weak change message after he figured out that Obama was pummelling him in the polls and I bet if you look back on history change is an ever riding theme in most campaigns. The thing the American people need to do is disect the positions and figure out what change really means.

Secondly… Many of us including myself went on record on this site calling Palin a bitch a liar etc. Some comments were out of line but others like the ones I read from Political Amazon and the Juneau guy were well thought out. All I gotta say about this is for Dems, Repubs and independents alike there is no intelligence requirement to use a computer and there is no intelligence requirement to free speech. People are human and its easy to show one’s stupidity behind the computer screen.

Thirdly (is that a word?)- Some people liked Palin for the simple fact that she is a woman or other reasons, based on that 28% figure. However if you look at the statistics Palin even turned off some long standing republicans with her stupidity and extremest views on some issues. She showed that on Katie Couric amongst other places… ie VP debate. If Palin would have been on the Dems side and displayed that kind of stupidity we would have called for her head. (and possibly voted for the green party… ) Actually we would have all screamed out loud for Hillary. Hillary had her faults but at least shes not completely stupid.

Fourth- The feminist movement was about women getting into positions with their intelect and charisma through hard work. Palin got the governor’s position because she was a little better than the slimeball that ran her state before her. She took advantage of an easy situation that even my cat could have done if her and I lived in Alaska and my cat were legally eligible to run for governor. YES THATS A LOW BLOW ON SARAH PALIN… but not low enough.
I am a woman myself and I would not be proud to have her anywhere near my state IA or my white house. Let her stay in Alaska where she can disgrace womanhood and charge for rapekits all she wants to there! Alaska isn’t on my travel itinerary at all for the next 50 years so I think I am good to go.
Last thing- Its real sweet of you to hope that the country gets destroyed. Way to care about human kind! Free speech! GET OVER IT!!! Even idiots deserve to live and have 1st amendment rights.

“Palin wasn’t someone I agreed with politically, but had she been politically left and a Democrat, most liberals would have loved her and considered her to be brilliant, of that I have no doubt. She was everything that the feminist movement has said a woman like me could be…”

Lord God Honey, I’ve been a feminist for more than 40 years, and there is no way in hell that Palin is representative of a feminist. Have you been listening to too much Limbaugh?

Feminism is NOT someone who wants to charge victims for their own rape kits, the abuse of power re: her brother-in-law, denying birth control in lieu of teaching abstinence only (how’s that workin’ for ya, Hon?), that whole creationism/dinosaur business, her inability to string together two coherent sentences, her blathering with, or without, her cue cards, all that damn winking nonsense, ugh… Not interested in going any further. There are a hell of a lot of things that Palin IS, but she is NOT a feminist. Yuck.

I, too, used to wonder about perfectly good shoes hanging over power lines. Then I learned that in my neck of the woods, it’s a gang symbol, symbolizing a place where poeople can purchase street drugs, marking turf, or even indicating a death.

I’m sure that’s not the case everywhere — there must be a thousand other meaningful and meaningless reasons people toss perfectly good, probably expensive sneakers over the high wires…but your post made me think. From now on, when I see this phenomenon, it will remind me how perfectly useless (& absurd!) Sarah Palin is as an elected official!

To all those who waded through the flotsam & jetsam of the Internet to arrive at this site, read the entries, and then felt the need to post slurs and epithets because you don’t agree with the opinions expressed here, I offer you a few choices: either (1) get your own flippin’ blog or (2) sit down and shut up.

No one asked you to read this blog if you disagree, just as no one asked you how you got all those lumps in your gravy. If you want to feel ill-used and under-appreciated, fine. But stay away from civilized people until you can express yourself like a civilized person.

JB- You said and I quote “I’m afraid the BHO followers are in for a big surprise since self-appointed false messiahs tend to fall from grace.”

Wow I cannot believe that people fall for that messiah bulshit that Rush et al. propogandize. Just because Obama made some promises (like all politicians to some degree do) and a few people went ga ga over him for no reason does not mean he is a messiah.
If you watched the Al Smith Dinner, Obama is fully aware of his percieved messiah status and was easily able to joke about all that.
However it is obvious from his cabinet appointees such as Hillary, Rahm Emanuel etc. that he knows he is no messiah and needs help from the best political minds to even start to bring the change this country needs.
You republicans are just waiting for 2012 it seems so that you can throw some more stones. It seems by your bitter remarks that you either want Obama to fail or don’t care enough about the good of the country to see “gasp” another democrat succeed at something. How pathetic is that!
Lets try having a little faith in our president elect for once! We didn’t get into all this mess as a country overnight and we sure arent going to get out of it overnight either.

Liberals thinking they’re smarter than conservatives. Conservatives thinking they’re smarter than liberals. So much for change. Not that it wasn’t just a campaign slogan anyway.

Sites like this could use a lot more love and a lot less fingerpointing, ad hominem attacks, and hatred. Palin wasn’t someone I agreed with politcally, but had she been politically left and a Democrat, most liberals would have loved her and considered her to be brilliant, of that I have no doubt. She was everything that the feminist movement has said a woman like me could be; a wife, a mother, have an important job, be active in politics, etc… This is nothing but hatred over disagreeing on political issues, which is a real shame.

Sometimes I hope this country is destroyed and sent to the dust bin of history. Given many of the comments I’ve read here, it’s what it would deserve.

ESPECIALLY ignore the “concern trolls!” The ones who cluck and pat us on the head and express their *sincere* fears that we’re all going to be so disappointed when PE Obama doesn’t turn out to be Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and The Tooth Fairy all wrapped up in one messianic gift basket. Ignore them! They are about as concerned about us, this country and Obama as we are about their newest shiny thing, Sarah Louise Wasillabilly. The fact that Matthew doesn’t delete their drivel makes him a better person than me.

I don’t think you’re old and bigoted; I think you’re a fabulous role model! I can only hope that someday I am as wise as you (though I doubt that I’ll be anywhere near as funny!)
Keep up the GREAT work!

Just thinking about how you are pissing off all of these narrow minded little sh*t-heads is making my day. The only reason that they are getting angry is because you are hitting to close to home with your comments. If they did not feel threatened then they would not have any reason to gripe. Keep up the good work and keep telling them all to just “SHUT THE HELL UP AND LET THE NEW PRESIDENT GET ON WITH MAKING THIS COUNTRY A BETTER PLACE!”

All these accusations from trolls about Obama supporters supposedly hating conservatives led me to this conclusion…

Personally, I don’t hate Republicans, or even conservatives. I’ve voted for some Republicans in the past, as recently as November 4th. I have a lot of conservative neighbors and relatives whom I love. But I can’t tolerate bullies.

Bullies argue about everything—that’s what bullies do. That’s what they are good at. That’s their hobby–ranting, insulting, in-your-face yelling, a psychotic need to control the conversation–’til they pop a vein somewhere or smirk their way off to their next victim. Blood sport for them is bullying others. Just look at Fixed News and the O’Reilly bunch. (Or, not!)

Well, the old ways aren’t working so well for the political bullies these days since a MAJORITY of Americans have finally called “bullshit”. And, that’s got some of God’s chosen people flabbergasted. How could THEIR God let into THEIR White House “the Muslim who is an Arab who is a socialist who is a Marxist who is a communist who pals around with terrorists”?

The Palin/O’Reilly minions are confused, running scared, and very uncomfortable. Maybe, JUST MAYBE, they don’t have “a lock” on God any more. He was supposed to answer their prayers and put the RIGHT party (McCain/Palin) back into the White House, NOT the pinko commie-socialist-Marxist lefties, like that Muslim terrorist named “Hussein”.

Maybe God is getting ready to smite the Christian right wingers for all their bullying, (What WOULD Jesus do?) for abusing their tax-free status, and for ignoring “separation of church and state” in our schools.

Whatever happens with the bullies, I do hope that God (the God of all of us, even the right wingers) blesses President-Elect Barack Hussein Obama. May our new president live long and prosper, and may he pull us up out of the mess left by the Rovian thugs, the “Compassionate Conservatives” and any stray, left-over Reaganites.

Let’s hope that Bush, Jr. goes off to play with his presidential library, far away from any position of power or nuclear buttons. And Palin? By her own actions, thoughts, beliefs, words, and witch doctor, may she finally hang herself out to dry.

The biggest challenge to the Democrats will be if the Republican Party ever finds SOMEONE with a brain, and a heart, to lead them, but that seems unlikely at this late date. They only listen to bullies now “…aggressively questioning a person’s patriotism, making poorly supported accusations, using accusations of disloyalty to pressure a person to adhere to conformist politics or to discredit an opponent, subverting civil rights in the name of national security and the use of demagoguery”.

Does that not sound exactly like Palin/O’Reilly/Coulter/trolls?

Well, truth-be-told, it’s the definition of McCarthyism found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism. The bullies of the Republican Party have morphed into a party that only Joe McCarthy could be proud of.

“Say it ain’t so, Joe!” No, it’s true. Joe McCarthy lives in every evil accusation thrown at a decent political candidate, every subversion of our civil rights, and every demagogue’s bully rant against rational speech.

And, Trolls? Hey, Helen’s blog is RATIONAL speech. It’s free speech; Bush hasn’t completely killed that off. Not YET, anyway. ‘Course, he still has a few more weeks to go.

Actually I see more sarcasm than hate here but that just might be me. Still, you forgot Newt Gingrech and GWH Bush and Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell and Jimmy Swaggart and the demi-god Ronnie himself. Though I thought Nancy showed some initiative standing up for stem cell research…and Arnie in Cali, well he shows some bright spots before falling back down again…man, and Minnesota getting Ventura there for awhile??? And My state, man, don’t forget Packwood, now that was a well deserved last name. There is more than enough sarcasm to go around when there is stupidity…and then there was Dukakis and What’s his name who dared the press to follow him when he was having an affair…or Edwards who couldn’t keep it inside the zipper either and cannot forget “potatoe” or Gore trying to tie himself to the invention of the internet…

Idiots on both sides…not complete idiots sometimes but man, some stupid things done or said.

You almost alway bring a smile to my face. I’m sure you’ll get more posts from the “Let me see the Birth Certificate”, “You’re gonna reap what you’ve sown” folks (like 8 years of reaping the harvest of seeds sown by the 2000 and ’08 elections has been a bounty crop of 1st prize produce).
I have to confess I enjoy reading their comments almost as much as your posts. Who doesn’t like to smile?

I said: Political Amazon wants it where people who have voted a certain way in the past, with which he doesn’t agree with their decision, should not be allowed to vote.

PA said:

>>I think we should institute “time-outs” for voters who continually make such pathetic choices. Perhaps not allow them to vote for an election or two, with the hope that maybe they will take a critical thinking class along the way so that they won’t continue to make such dangerous voting choices.<<

“Perhaps not allow them to vote for an election or two, …”

It matters not your reason why you believe such foolishness, or why you would say it outloud. You did, in fact, say it.

It’s not the first time I’ve heard the left say they want to deprive others who disagree with them from voting. My favorite posts over the past 6 years or so are the libs who want to round up all the conservatives in the USA and have them killed. No doubt there are some of your comrades on the left who are reading this who would agree with that sentiment; maybe even you.

The greatest thing in America is that fact that if you don’t like what you are watching/hearing you are free to turn the channel or walk away.

I for one am quite concerned about that 28% that believes Sarah Palin is intelligent. Stupidity is like a disease that infects everyone in someway or another. Too bad there isn’t a vaccination for it. It probably would stay sold out.

Saw this picture on the LATimes website. It’s Sarah Palin with Gov. Schwarzenegger standing behind her. He looks like he’d like to rip her head off. He is usually pretty good at not letting his feelings show in his expression, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him with such a look of contempt on his face.

For the past eight years in particular (Bush era – Go figure!) I’ve tried to understand why so many of our fellow citizens seem to lack critical thinking skills – the people you’re writing about who buy into the Limbaugh, Coulter, O’Reilly diatribes and can’t see through the inconsistencies, lies and hypocrisy of their hateful arguments.

I’m also as old as dirt, also loved science, still want some answers in life, and would love to have you tackle the root of the problem. (to be explained in one short paragraph of course!)

“Oh and one more thing. That Messiah bit. The Chosen one. He’s the one who campaigned as embodiment of the second coming (though he never said it in so many words, it was implied), so he has only himself to blame. And that’s the way he’ll be treated, as the candidate who promised he could fix everything in short order. So he’ll have a small window in which to work the miracles he claimed he could preform. A very small window. Then all bets are off.”

——-

1) Apparently you don’t recall the sequence of rightwinger talking-points. Originally, the talking point was:

“Obama supporters are worshipping him. They think he’s the Messiah or the Chosen One.” This talking point was to explain away the popularity of Obama’s message and the huge numbers of people attending his speeches and campaign stops.

When that didn’t pan out, then they switched it to:

“Obama acts like he’s the Messiah.”

That also was a lie, and was spewed out by the bigot-panderers in the GOP to slyly imply to their racist peeps “Obam is uppity.”

2) I bet the morons who voted for Bush Jr twice and still approve of him would LOVE to have yet another Democrat quickly clean up the mess of a previous Republican president.

But it is unreasonable to expect Obama to fix something that it took the REpublicans 8 years to create: the near-destruction of our country.

Read the papers much? Today they finally acknowledged that we have been in a recession for a year. See much progress in Bush Jr fixing that? Of course not because, like 9/11, he knew it was happening and did NOTHING to stop it.

They are also indicating that this recession may be very, very deep and we will likely be experiencing its effects until at least 2010.

It seems that it is YOU who think Obama is the Messiah and the Miracle Worker. Normal people do not. They see him as someone who has a chance at straightening out the mess Bush Jr and his cronies made of our country. And we realize that it is going to take a long time.

“There are a lot of people who have been angry with the direction and focus of this country for a long time, at least since the eighties if not longer and as much as they love this country, they believe change DOES need to happen and personally I don’t care if it is a Dem or a Republican in office, this government needs to change, this country needs to change from the nepotism, petty greed, arrogance it has demonstrated through our leaders.”

“Helen, your followers have some interesting views, I see. Political Amazon wants it where people who have voted a certain way in the past, with which he doesn’t agree with their decision, should not be allowed to vote. …”

———

Apparently you cannot read.

I don’t think that voters who voted for Bush Jr twice, and now still approve of his administration, after he has nearly destroyed our country, can make competent voting decisions.

It’s not whether their choice is the same as mine. It matters that they make shitty decisions and don’t learn from their mistakes, continuing to make the same shitty decisions, which is destroying our country.

Helen, how do you get so many readers? You must reveal your secrets. We were all shocked when McCain rolled out Palin, but then again the last eight years have been one ridiculous shock after another. The Republicans seem to want to become more and more extreme as each year passes.

I love your comments, Helen. I love the unvarnished common sense. And I don’t believe anybody should have to censor their opinions beyond using common respect and good manners.

Here’s what I’m sad to see in the comments: pure hate-filled vitriol spewed at EITHER side.
I think the extreme edges of hate in our society are slowly strangling democracy as we know it in America. And more important — good ol’ common horse sense.

I voted for Obama and was immensely relieved that he won. My sister (who is my best friend) voted for McCain and didn’t have serious huge issues with Palin. Is my sister an idiot? No. Is she insane? No (well, OK, I did wonder if she need meds — just for a second). Is she a Shrub-lover? Quadruple-no (she’s not part of the 28 percent).

What she is, is a patriotic American, just like me, who cast her vote the way she saw fit. And she is hoping, just like me, that Obama will be able to lead this country well during what appear to be treacherous times ahead (her hub who also voted for McCain texted me during Obama’s 60 Minutes interview and said it was a pleasure listening to a president-to-be who had a solid command of the English language).

I really hated all the campaign crap about whether McCain or Obama was more patriotic. They both love their country and it is obvious.
Nor do I believe you have to agree with me to be patriotic.

This country needs folks to get over the election and move on behind our new government. I did it when the Shrub won. Never liked the man, but realized he was elected and that was that. I gave him a chance.

Will the Obama administration make mistakes? I can pretty well guarantee that. But what I do see in the man is a pragmatism and common sense that has been missing in the last 8 years.

The morning after the election, my 15-year-old nephew’s American Issues teacher reminded his class: “You live in a country that for more than 200 years has had a peaceful exchange of power every four years. We may seem hopelessly divided but we always abide by the vote. There are no military coups, no executions of political dissidents. Just a peaceful exchange.”

God bless America and her democracy. It ain’t perfect; it doesn’t turn on a dime. But it works.

(Yes, I realize Guantanamo doesn’t fit the above statement. Luckily that administration is on its way out. Our system worked.)

Helen, as a Canadian living in St. John’s Newfoundland, I found myself paying as much attention to the recent American election (not that I could really escape it anyway!) as the Canadian one that was ongoing around the same time. I was highly disappointed with the results of ours, but very pleased with yours. I was afraid, truly afraid that McPalin would win. American politics has a large impact on Canadian politics, and in the world as a whole. We cannot take another 4-8 years of what would be the equivalent of Bush or worse!
In reading your posts, I have found so many statements that I whole heartedly agree with.
I am curious as to your opinion on the idea of impeaching Bush. And I wonder if you’re familiar with any Canadian politics. Particularly Stephen Harper.

Helen, your followers have some interesting views, I see. Political Amazon wants it where people who have voted a certain way in the past, with which he doesn’t agree with their decision, should not be allowed to vote. DC Fem is glad that people who disagree with the left politically live in areas where they’ll die soon. Such cheerful people. Who wouldn’t want to join hands with such a positive and loving message?

So much projection on the part of your admirers. Oh, if only they were as smart as they believed themselves to be. Liberals; so self-deluded, especially when it comes to their lack of intelligence. Many of these fools can be found on sites like democraticunderground and dailykos, should there be anyone out there who would enjoy laughing at these dolts.

No doubt you falsely believe your rhetoric to be clever, and you’re already hiding behind your age as a defense for your tone. The speech of which you participate is just as hateful, if not even more so, as that which you decry. Those on this blog and elsewhere who agree with you are part of the problem and have no room to talk about others. The Bush hate, and now the Palin hate, is all you have to offer, and having watched it grow via liberal pol sites and blogs over the past few years, it’s more than obvious that hatred is the one emotion that is purely owned by the left. You certainly have no love for anyone other than yourselves and your own selfish purposes. And it’s so interesting to watch the left claim it’s because they care about others, when the truth is they only want to do certain things in order to relieve their own guilt. Again, as a liberal, it always comes back to being about YOU, never about others.

Oh and one more thing. That Messiah bit. The Chosen one. He’s the one who campaigned as embodiment of the second coming (though he never said it in so many words, it was implied), so he has only himself to blame. And that’s the way he’ll be treated, as the candidate who promised he could fix everything in short order. So he’ll have a small window in which to work the miracles he claimed he could preform. A very small window. Then all bets are off.

Martha:
“…Sampling problems abound, even with the most stringent requirements. One thing that I’ve been wondering about is, with the proliferation of people with cell phones but not a land line, how are cell phone users adequately represented? I’m sure there’s a way . . .”

——-

This is the deal with cell phones. There are a couple of approaches to reaching voters whose primary phone contact is cellular, but they are much more expensive to do and so usually are not done.

This is important because a large majority of young voters have cellular as their primary phone contact. Studies have shown that, when it comes to age-related issue (i.e., Social Security), cellular primary-contact voters voted the complete opposite of landline primary-contact voters.

Since the vast majority of young voters were for Obama, and the vast majority of young voters use cell phone as primary contact, for the vast majority of polls, the findings vastly underestimaed the portion of the population that supported Obama.

How can you tell if the polling groups use the more expensive cell-phone contact method for their polls? It’s easy: they will say so up front because they have invested a lot of money in extra funds to do it and want to get credit for it.

LATimes/Bloomberg polls use the more expensive method as a rule. I don’t know about the other polling groups.

Kewalo:
“I’ve come to the conclusion that the wingnuts that keep saying they don’t know who PE Obama is are just flat-out lazy. He’s written 2 books, given upteen speeches that are all available online. There have been God-only-knows how many articles about him and these idiots say they don’t know him. Stupid and lazy are the words that describe those idiots the best. ”

——-

I don’t know if they are lazy, but there does seem to be an unwilligness to search for information independent of their regular resources.

This was especially irrigating during the campaign. I read hundreds, if not thousands, of posts saying “He’s just pretty words. No one knows what his policies are.”

Obama’s website had extensive information about his poliies and plans…very detailed information, as a matter of fact.

I was very impressed with his section on education. It received very little attention (if any) from the media, but it had some of the best ideas of his campaign, IMO.

But did they look? No. Instead they just parrotted what the rightwing propagandameisters fed them, which was a lie and, in parroting it, they then, too, became liars.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the wingnuts that keep saying they don’t know who PE Obama is are just flat-out lazy. He’s written 2 books, given upteen speeches that are all available online. There have been God-only-knows how many articles about him and these idiots say they don’t know him. Stupid and lazy are the words that describe those idiots the best.

And isn’t it astounding that they seem to just love flaunting their ignorance and laziness? Sheesh!

I am not going to bother this time to even respond to the opposing view, heel most of the people here whom I agree with probably wouldn’t like me anyway even though they haven’t kicked me out of the kitchen yet but I would like to make one point…

Just because I might be labeled ‘liberal’ and some of my personal views political and otherwise might be seen as ‘extreme’ and I believe that diversity is a good thing, not just my brand of it…why is it assumed that I need to be tolerant and loving? Personally I think the dichotomy of a bi-partisan system is bs, that a larger group of viable parties would be good, forcing more coalition style work in Washington…but off that tangant and back to my initial point. Why does being liberal mean ‘doormat’ to Conservatives? Because I think government should represent people and not corporations, should not be used for personal gain does not mean that I am submissive; un-opinionated; like to be told what to do or to think; or that I tolerate stupid comments made to me at home or work; or ‘reality’ tv or play well with others…it doesn’t mean that I am not sarcastic or demeaning at times just like the fact that I am vegetarian doesn’t mean that I am opposed to guns or that I appreciate a lot of Buddhist philosophy that I even pretend to have an all-encompassing compassionate heart.

There are a lot of people who have been angry with the direction and focus of this country for a long time, at least since the eighties if not longer and as much as they love this country, they believe change DOES need to happen and personally I don’t care if it is a Dem or a Republican in office, this government needs to change, this country needs to change from the nepotism, petty greed, arrogance it has demonstrated through our leaders.

I would like to believe that change will happen but I certainly don’t see Obama as some liberal left wing messiah…I see him as an intelligent individual, with some good thoughts and who might actually help move towards a more balanced focus for our government but to be honest, my voting for him was for the WAY lesser of two ‘evils’.

Since it seems to be frowned upon by just burning the whole barn down and rebuilding, I will push to at least renovate the existing structure.

Ask this question: Does the data drive the decision, or does the decision drive the data? Unfortunately, the latter is as often the case as the former, so buyer beware.

Studies are hardly ever completely without bias. I once worked for a state-which-shall-remain-nameless health department, and my unit was charged with mining Medicaid data to prove that cigarette smoking cost the state, I don’t remember, some total to be over a specified amount (in millions) If the total didn’t come out right, we were supposed to go back and dig some more, meaning we had to broaden the definition of ‘cost’.

Soooo, take them all with a grain of salt, thinking about who funded them. News agencies generally have a vested interest in reporting accurately, but party polls – well, ’nuff said.

Sampling problems abound, even with the most stringent requirements. One thing that I’ve been wondering about is, with the proliferation of people with cell phones but not a land line, how are cell phone users adequately represented? I’m sure there’s a way . . .

Yuk! Someone left some pie out and the cockroaches are here!! Where”s the Raid!!
Margaret and Helen keep th e blog going. It is the bright spot of my morning. Fortunately I am able to have my computer here in this Board and CAre REsidence. Your blog helps keep my sanity. CAn’t understand why the networks have not found you. And you write in complete, grammatical correst woth correct spelling. We went to school back in the days when they taught grammar , spelling, geography etc. (I think my spelling has slipped).
Has anyone ever compared the RR to Oliver Cromwell? Interesting.

hilarious.
i feel bad for the people of alaska, however, maybe they deserve her for even putting her on the ballot. Do you think Russian idiots are running for the lesser-of-two-parties and says, “I can see AMERICA from my backyard.”

“Why do all of the trolls and others assume that I hate all Republicans? I notice that they throw that out there all the time….”

——

I don’t know if they actually believe that. I see the tactic used a lot. In formal debate, it is called “poisoning the well,” and is a logic fallacy. By painting you as having strong negative emotion about Republicans, they try to lead others to not give your words and opinions credibility, implying that you have a preexisting agenda which keeps you from being objective in your assessment.

Using such a tactic is usually a clear indication that whomever is using it has a weak argument and cannot refute your claims or opinions.

Martha Sayeth:
“Hey, Ben, ever take higher math? Just because no one asked YOU doesn’t mean that the polls are wrong. Actually, with a random sample of about 1200 respondents, the population parameter can be estimated (the result is the statistic) within a surprisingly small range. So, for argument’s sake, let’s say that the margin of error is + or – 3 percentage points. That still means that no more than 31% of the population approves of her.

Every American should know enough statistics to realize that your chances of winning the lottery are virtually the same if you buy one ticket or no ticket.”

———

Thank you, Martha, for clearing that up. Most people are surprised that, if a poll is done correctly, 1200 respondents is a valid sample.

The issue is “if a poll is done correctly,” and the vast majority of polls will not give you the information necessary to assess it for validity.

Polls are used by PACs, political campaigns, and special-interest groups both to gauge what is going on, but also to sway voters. Humans are herd animals and, especially if a voter is undecided, reading that “the majority favors Candidate Z,” will be more inclined to vote for Candidate Z.

The groups who contract with polling groups to conduct polls are usually in charge of what, when and how any of the polling results are released.

And, even if the polling group is 100% legit and gives full disclosure of its methods, news organizations are quite willing to twist the results to show their own agenda. CNN has repeatedly done this, as have others, but CNN is the most blatant and the easiest to find the fraud in.

For a starting list of things you should know about a poll before you believe its results, go to the National Council on Public Polls:

Out of all of the questions they ask, their discussion of this one is the best:

=====

(BEGIN QUOTE)
2. Who paid for the poll and why was it done?
You must know who paid for the survey, because that tells you – and your audience – who thought these topics are important enough to spend money finding out what people think.

Polls are not conducted for the good of the world. They are conducted for a reason – either to gain helpful information or to advance a particular cause.

It may be the news organization wants to develop a good story. It may be the politician wants to be re-elected. It may be that the corporation is trying to push sales of its new product. Or a special-interest group may be trying to prove that its views are the views of the entire country.

All are legitimate reasons for doing a poll.

The important issue for you as a journalist is whether the motive for doing the poll creates such serious doubts about the validity of the results that the numbers should not be publicized.

Private polls conducted for a political campaign are often unsuited for publication. These polls are conducted solely to help the candidate win – and for no other reason. The poll may have very slanted questions or a strange sampling methodology, all with a tactical campaign purpose. A campaign may be testing out new slogans, a new statement on a key issue or a new attack on an opponent. But since the goal of the candidate’s poll may not be a straightforward, unbiased reading of the public’s sentiments, the results should be reported with great care.

Likewise, reporting on a survey by a special-interest group is tricky. For example, an environmental group trumpets a poll saying the American people support strong measures to protect the environment. That may be true, but the poll was conducted for a group with definite views. That may have swayed the question wording, the timing of the poll, the group interviewed and the order of the questions. You should carefully examine the poll to be certain that it accurately reflects public opinion and does not simply push a single viewpoint.
(END OF QUOTE)

Skyewriter wrote something about being motivated by fear or by love& that is important ….I am remembering something about choosing the path of the greater good…Dad stood for this…not his pocketbook and I guess it has influenced my choices…Still working on my question .

“Thanks again ladies for another great post. Imagine the people who honestly think Palin will be elected in 2012! She may be hero to the folks down in the racist belt but the rest of us see her for what she is. A babbling fool who hides behidnd her so called relgious beliefs as she spews hate and division.”

———-

I think Palin is in danger of being left twisting in the wind like the GOP did to Kenneth Starr.

When Starr took over the inquisition of the Clintons, GOP politicians could not get their pictures taken with him enough. Starr was the guest of honor at dinners, parties, and any number of other GOP soirees.

Then the GOP started noticing that the majority of Americans wanted the inquisition of the Clintons to stop, and didn’t approve of the tactics of the GOP and their chief inquisitor, Starr.

Suddenly, NO GOP politician wanted to be linked with Starr in any way. He was as popular as genital warts at an orgy.

Starr, finally getting a clue to what was going on, wanted to resign as chief inquisitor, but the GOP wouldn’t let him.

So Starr had to carry out his inquisition to the very, very end. And the GOP gave him no cover whatsoever.

I think Palin is going to end up like Starr–twisting in the wind and taking the heat for all of the GOP’s misjudgments and failures.

And isn’t she off to a good start? During the campaign she was allowed to incite violence against Obama, and deliver the most despicable, lying, bigotted attacks I’ve seen in a long time.

Here it is, post-election, and she continues to prove what a willing patsy she can be for the GOP. Palin, the mother of a soldier in Iraq, stumping for Chambliss, whose ad against Max Cleland was one of the biggest public insults and humiliations ever delivered to a war hero.

And when enough of the American people become outraged at her ignorant hate-mongering, you can bet that the GOP will leave her holding the bag.

Elsie, I enjoyed reading what you wrote about McCartyism… I am learning from you. I have a question and it is (remember no questions are stupid)so the membrs of the GOP polarize based upon fear and they campaign by promoting these fears, both real and imagined, and then they are elected…do they govern based on real or imagined fear because they believe in the fears or because of another motive, both of these reasons, or some from fear and others for another motive?Also I have fears about losing freedoms that I value…and I would vote to protect these freedoms… How is that different? I think gun control would be wise (I live in an urban area…) Someone else sees it as denying them a freedom. This is a real question …

Trolls may hate to be ignored…but loyal M&H commenters hate to be stuck in moderation for over an hour. (since 1:27pm)

What’s up mods?

[Note from Matthew: This board is not moderated per se. I am Helen’s grandson and I check in from time to time. The normal WordPress systems are in place that sometimes put you in spam or moderated status due to several factors including the number of links in your message. My grandmother also asked me to put a mod block on comments that contain certain words. Ex. the n word and the f word to name two. If you get caught in that process, your comment will sit there until I have time to look in. I have a fullt-ime job and I live temporarily in London so I do this at odd hours. The only commentors that get a permanent ban are the ones that try to “clog” the system with nasty comments that have nothing to do with the subject matter. I haven’t done that often as Helen as told me to let people say what the want to say. My grandmother has very thick skin and we haven’t seen her act this young in years. We thank all of you for that. My only other involvement is to format the posts for Helen and Margaret which sometimes slows down the process as well. Full disclosure: I’ve made about $500 off the t-shirst etc. so I guess my hourly rate is about $2.35!]

John @ 12.35 PM,
So your point is that your tribalism gives you nothing creative to think or say? You’re lack of a point has been made dozens of times already. Try contributing some of your life experience by saying something interesting. Hell, a fresh and creative insult would be better than a bland nothing.

This blog is so full of common sense and humour that it is a delight to read.

As a Canadian I am pleased to see you point out the blurring and difference between an opinion and news. It is a sad state of affairs when people believe angry, vile, hateful opinions from people like Rush Limbaugh as factual and true. Scary.

When the Canadian government refused to partake in the ‘war’ in Iraq we were vilified and ridiculed and deemed as cowards. Afterall, Bush stated you were”with us or against us.” Our armed troops have been in Afghanistan for years and will continue to be there for many more years.

Keep up your fabulous blog, Margaret. You continue to be a strong voice of reason and wit.

Why do all of the trolls and others assume that I hate all Republicans? I notice that they throw that out there all the time.

I do not hate Republicans. I know many who are smart, courteous and educated individuals. What I do despise are the hate spewing, single narrow vision people who will not educate themselves. Their way is the right way and by God if I don’t agree I am going to hell blah blah blah blah.

As for the guy going to Italy has it ever occured to you that those people don’t want to sit next to you either? Geeeez Why are you going to Italy if the only opinion or world view you want is what is in your tiny mind.

Please know that it is sooooo refreshing to read your blog. It cracks me up to see what the trolls have to say. We are mean, nasty, haters. Apparently they don’t read what they write:)

Personally, I think McCain did us a favor by picking Palin. It would be awfully hard for her to prove that she is 1)intelligent 2)aware of her surroundings, etc. She may get to the primaries but let me tell you if she thought that the MSM was mean to her then she surely hasn’t run against another repub. They would & will eat her alive.

Yep John. You are right. And we won’t have to read your idiotic bleats either. What have YOU done that makes you such a contributor? And sorry to tell you, they like Obama in Italy. They don’t like McCain nor do they like Palin. Just tell them you are a repub and see how they react.

Personally, I am glad to see that ctrobbins has returned for another crack at dialogue here.

There have been many more recent commentators with less tact.

I am sorry that you are out of work (and to all others who posted here in the same pickle). A wave of hope is carrying some of us and we are choosing that hope over FEAR. Fear that the unknown is dangerous, fear that someone unlike ourselves is to be looked at sideways, fear that things will not get better.

I, for one, CHOOSE hope and not outright, stubborn, pre-emptive skepticism. There are two basic drives to human behavior; fear and love.

In my small opinion, when I have a question about a belief or an action, I ask myself if am I motivated by fear or love? Love’s my route. And it’s not just because it’s the holiday season or some religious belief I have or my politics. It’s because I believe in us–HUMANITY.

Helen wrote about having no regrets. Living a life motivated by love instead of fear is a sure fire way to have no regrets.

Okay, I’m going to put down the flower-power and get bake to baking cookies.

Hi Helen,
You are so funny. You and Margaret are doing much to change the impression that anyone over 70 is a bingo-playing jello addict. I come from a long line of outspoken elders. Old people have more time to read and certainly a broader perspective. My 97-year-old Mamaw may not always be right, but she always has an opinion and you always know what she thinks. When the same lady who used to sit me in the corner for saying “Crap” now tells me that something is “Bullshit”, I might giggle a bit, but I sure do sit down and listen. And that’s the important thing, the dialog. I love the dialog in this blog of yours. When you lost a few devotees with your “Got Milk” post, I just laughed. That’s what makes you so genuine. You don’t please all of the people all of the time.
Anyway…I thought that you might enjoy this article from California about a priest who is definitely ignoring the whole “separation of church and state” concept. http://www.modbee.com/local/story/515762.html
Thanks!

I overheard a group of Palin supporters on election eve discuss their impending doom, saying it was all the fault of the biased media. They wanted to boycott all news channels, “except for Fox News”.

I’ll admit that I’m addicted to news channels and politics in general, and I lean toward the left, but I always make it a point to watch everything from Fox to MSNBC just to get the full range of opinion. Refusing to listen to whoever doesn’t agree with you is discouragingly rampant among this group and many extremists on both sides.

In my sixty-seven years of life, I have always noticed how the “non-contributors of life” have enough time to run down good folks who are attempting to make a positive difference in our world. Hopefully, next year when my wife and I take our trip to Italy, we will not be forced to sit at a table next to someone like you and listen to their worthless crap, because there is no where else to sit.

ctoddrobbins:
You have been around before. You know what this blog is about. Why come here? I just don’t understand why you feel the need to come here.
I guess part of my problem is that you have that chinless look of my ex who was from Missouri.
So, I equate you and your deliberate provocation here to my disgust of him.

What I see is, plain and simple, obsession. It’s the same old playbook:

Liberals hate conservatives…
is a conservative who is now starting to get a foothold on the national scene…
Liberals labels dumb because, well, they aren’t liberal (and because liberals are compassionate and tolerant)…
Liberals bash away and bash away and bash away to ridiculous degrees, even after the election is over, until they look like petty fools…
Sometimes all this bashing actually works, other times it doesn’t…
When it works, the next target is selected.

I have no doubt that all the same garbage will be spewed next time. It’s really pretty obvious that you really hate them because you don’t like what they stand for and what their policy is. But policy arguments are boring. It’s much better to dismantle character and call someone an idiot. It’s juicier, it’s something everyone can glom on to, and sometimes it works. Shove all your own sins under the carpet (Had Palin had all the same connections and mistatements that Obama made, you guys would have attacked her mercilessly, while you gave your man a total pass), and attack even when you should be celebrating your victory.

I can’t wait to see what you guys will try and say about Bobby Jindal, or anyone else in the next few years that emerges. I’m sure you’ll focus entirely on policy, and not get into personal character assaults. Oh, yeah… I’m sure that will happen.

But hey, you get a lot of hits and comments from the fellow haters, so I guess it gives you a feeling of kinship. What a happy crew you have here.

For some strange reason, I thought that you (Helen) might get discouraged by all the merde flung your way by the poor pitiful Palinites – but when I read this latest installment I realized that I don’t know you well enough yet – the strength of spirit you display here has been pretty constant, but we hadn’t seen it challenged yet. You’ve faced the challenge, and you are MAGNIFICENT!

I’m laid off too, from a business that was once a hallmark of American ingenuity and national security. Anyways:

The surge: Obama may have been standing his original ground. In hindsight, has the war been worth the $1T+ it may cost? It certainly was not advertised as such in the runup.

Clinton’s foreign policy abilities: Politics. She did the same to him as Romney did to Giuliani. Sadly, it may be the way of things, as also is a candidate’s pandering to one’s base and then moving towards the ‘pragmatic power center’ after winning an election.

Redistribution of wealth: When things must be paid for, why is it worse for one wealthy person to pay, than it is for five not so wealthy?

Conservative philosophies: the success of which may be contextual to the times.

There have been many comments to the effect of “why are we still taking about Sarah Palin” and “your guy won so enough already”. The reason that it can’t ever be enough, is that this is only a beginning. A beginning of a new presidency. Obama winning is not the end. We all have a responsibility to keep informed and abreast of what is going on. I find it funny that many people against the general viewpoints of this blog refer us thinking that Obama is a diety. He is a politician and a member of government. Thereby we still have the responsibility to keep an eye out and participate in recovery efforts. We also have an obligation to call bullshit whenever we see it regardless of where it is coming from.

As to Sarah Palin, we can’t let it go, because she won’t. She is like a constant danger on the horizon. She is just smart enough to be wily about getting what she wants, but too stupid and self serving to care about the actual job that she does when she gets there or who she hurts along the way. To many it is clear that she is out for her own best interests and her family’s, not the state’s or the country’s. At least maybe not for the rest of us unAmericans. You know the ones that don’t look, think and act just like her and worship at her feet. We must be vigilant of what she is doing, because she will somehow manage to keep herself on the scene and better to be prepared than to have her sneak up on us in the end.

So just because the election is over, doesn’t mean that we go back and crawl into political oblivion again. We need to be well informed about all of them and even participate where we can. I think for too long we have been somewhat afraid to speak up about everything going on. The banks failing, we could see that coming. The bad investments, the politicians with connections to Haliburton and oil. No more. Speaking out against government when they are doing something that seems wrong is not unpatriotic. Bush scared too many people with the “if you are not for me, you are against me” threats.

Margaret as usual, your posts are right on and very thought provoking. Make it chocolate pecan pie and cheesecake for me.

benjaminvallen1: Polls can never be truly accurate unless every single person in the United States is asked. When you have a poll like THAT, post it up. until then, your 28% is crap.

P.S. Sarah Palin rocks.

————————————

Hey, Ben, ever take higher math? Just because no one asked YOU doesn’t mean that the polls are wrong. Actually, with a random sample of about 1200 respondents, the population parameter can be estimated (the result is the statistic) within a surprisingly small range. So, for argument’s sake, let’s say that the margin of error is + or – 3 percentage points. That still means that no more than 31% of the population approves of her.

Every American should know enough statistics to realize that your chances of winning the lottery are virtually the same if you buy one ticket or no ticket.

Bet you buy lottery tickets.

And you forgot some words in your last statement: Sarah Palin has rocks in her head.

Ladies, one of the hazards of the internet is that the idiots use every moment of their free time to spew their bile. They never rest. They dominate the comments section of every news site and blog with their ignorant rants about Obama’s race, religion, place of birth, high score on his schools’ basketball team, etc.

The only way we can really get America back to its position of strength and authority in the world is to completely ignore the fools among us. That includes Sarah Palin. Your remote has a mute button for a reason. Mine is almost worn out because of her.

And cheer up, I’ve learned one thing about the completely ignorant folks here in America. The vast majority of them seem to live in locales with higher than average rates of heart disease, diabetes and pollution. They won’t outlive you, if that’s any comfort.

From a Canadian who is thrilled that you have Obama (would that we had one like him here in Canada!) thanks you for the refreshing comments on your blog. It scared the Hell out of us up here in the cold white North, that Sarah Palin might be a heartbeat away from becoming the president of the most powerful nation on earth, but America rose to the challenge and elected the best candidate. Those that don’t like him are ill informed, bigoted, and dare I say it, unintelligent. Thank God for people like you and Helen! You go girl!!!

Right Wing Haters: I found a site you will love.
You can Love Jesus and Hate the Sinner!
I think they are giving away a lump of cheese in the holy shape of Jesus for a big donation!
I am off to work – have fun with the trolls.

[…] freedom; freedom is cowering from those liberty crushing Democrats according to a Republican at Margaret and Helen’s blog left these burned crumbs of thought, “You and your cronies are obviously uneducated sheep and think that the constitution is […]

I would like to see even conservatives give the president-elect a chance to assume the office and actually put into place his administration, before falling all over themselves about him not “keeping…true to what he promised”.

It’s such a contrast to see Obama moving forward, while Dubya/the Shrub is completely missing in action.

I am hopeful that Obama’s decisions will be right, and just, and intelligent. I’m willing to wait for him to actually assume the office and then see what he can do to clean up the mess left from the last 8 years. Obviously, everyone will not agree with all of his policies, but I believe that he is trying to bring together the best administration possible to get us back up a slippery slope out of the Bush morass of recession, death, and destruction.

One more thought:
Tens of millions of Americans voted for PE Obama, but WE ALL “pay his salary”, since this is a democracy. If he’s not the conservatives’ standard-bearer, he is the leader of the MAJORITY of voters. He received the MAJORITY of electoral votes. And, he is the president-ELECT. He’s the best thing we’ve got goin’ right now, even seven weeks away from his inauguration.

I actually think she’s a very intelligent woman. She is young and smart with a good head on her shjoulders. And she has like 12 kids hello!! She did some great things in Alaska and I see a great future for her.

With regards to principles, I think it’s always wise to be a bit flexible. To rigidly adhere to any principle or ideology is dangerous — we form our opinions (and principles) at an early age. Who knows if they’re right or wrong? Hopefully, as we age, we gain better insight into the workings of the world, and we modify our opinions accordingly. I think this is called wisdom.

Regarding your beliefs, many of us believe differently than you. For example, I’m a big believer in some sort of universal healthcare (just as I’m a big believer that Social Security should NEVER be privatized).

Would you like to know why?

There are a couple of reasons: First, I have one friend who died a few years ago because he had no health insurance — too poor to afford it. He had an infected tooth and didn’t have it looked at (no insurance). Finally, when his arm began swelling, he went to the emergency room, only to discover he had blood poisoning. Well, by this time it was too late, and he was dead some hours later.

The other reason is an old friend (ex-girlfriend). She’s French (and back in France) but, like you, without a job and thus with little money.

Last June, during a checkup paid-for by the French government, she discovered she had a tumor in her breast. They operated (again, free to her), and discovered another tumor under her armpit. She’s just finished a round of chemo treatments and is beginning radiation treatment this week. Again, all gratis, courtesy of the government.

We don’t yet know if she’ll make it, but all I can say is — thank goodness for the French health system! If she’d been living here in the States (which is what she was doing when I met her 20 years ago), she’d certainly be dying.

So you and I don’t agree on the right path for our country, but hey, that’s life. Best of luck on your job search. (Seriously!)

Excellent Helen. Hello. My name is Javier and I write to you from Madrid, Spain. You know, Europeland.

Oh, here all the people wants Obama, and all the people detest Bush and his govern, and Palin is the worst of the politician people of USA.

In our tv programs we see to Palin talking about increase tensions, to Rusia and anyone of the others countries in the world. Strong and powerful countries. And I want to say ok to you because a read a title with sense. The other 28%? Has not a mortage, sure. The other 28% has land and a gun. Here we see that people that wants live in a western film. But not today. Today internet is real.

And Palin is the worst and the war.

In Spain since twenty years we have the best Social Security in the world. Thank you.
From Madrid, Javier.

“That whopping 28% consists of the ignorant and the intolerant. We don’t really want them in our camp, do we? ….”

———-

I’ll go further than that. I think this 28% probably voted for Bush Jr TWICE. Now that Bush Jr has dones his best to destroy our country, this 28% STILL approves of what he has done in office.

I think this 28% has amply proven that they are incompetent to vote. They are, indeed, a danger to our nation.

I think we should institute “time-outs” for voters who continually make such pathetic choices. Perhaps not allow them to vote for an election or two, with the hope that maybe they will take a critical thinking class along the way so that they won’t continue to make such dangerous voting choices.

“Exactly. McCain is an empty suit who is “handled” by they christian right, et al. There is no there there. I’m grateful he lost as he did. His concession speech was just another “show” for the gullible. The real McCain showed up at his Klan Rallies.”

———-

The self-destruction of John McCain during the 2008 presidential campaign was a tragedy to behold. He systematically betrayed every ideal and value he had ever claimed as his own, trying to become everything to everybody, and allowed and participated in the most shameful and unethical attacks on Barak Obama.

Whenever I think of John McCain’s betrayals, I remember a quote from a character in Cormac McCarthy’s “All the Pretty Horses”:

“A man first betrays himself. After that, all other betrayals come easy.”

Actually, I voted for him once…HUGE mistake…He’s way too liberal for me. His partnership with Kennedy on No Child Left Behind, and increased spending showed me he is no conservative. In the second election, I did not vote for him or Kerry, they both were the same in my camp…..I voted Constitutional Party….just as I did in this last election.

I am no fan of Bush…so you have no fight here with that.

Did I say Obama was a failure? No I didn’t…would be great if you would at least pretend to read what I wrote……instead of waiting for the screen to refresh and start your diatribe.

His transition is public, and can be under public scrutiny….he works for me….I pay his salary.

Finally…If Mr. Obama actually beleives what he touted on the campaign trail, then no….but if he sees the light of day, yes.

I do have to ask, with your obvious skills of analysis, and desire to speak your mind….I’d love for you to use the same degree of investigation on the great “DallyBama”, especially in light of the many promises he made, and, before even being sworn in is already contradicting.”

_________________________________________

I personally could take you more seriously about your claim to a serious discussion and honest debate if you could learn how to spell our President Elects name. That would be Obama. There is no Dally in his name and there is an O at the beginning.

I personally am ready to give him the same chance I gave President Bush in his first 4 years. I did not vote for him but he was our President. Well he blew it and the gloves were off after that. I will be critical of PE Obama when he proves to me that any policy he enacts is not about change or for the good of ALL AMERICANS. Not just the few who he thinks are the real Americans.

Seems to me that so many people claim that want open discussion but really they just want their cake and eat it too, by not standing up themselves and helping to make the change.

Bush has obviously already “checked out”; he can’t even pretend to be presidential at this late date. I bet you voted for him, TWICE, didn’tja?

Can you not wait for Obama to actually become president in seven fricking weeks before you go on-and-on about what a failure he already is?

I get the feeling that Obama couldn’t make you happy for anything. Gripe, gripe, gripe. How ’bout you give the president-elect time to actually assume the office before you go on about how he’s already dropped the ball?

ctoddrobbins –
Afraid I am not sure you are really honest about your questions about Mr Obama since you choose to call the gent Dally Bama but will give you a molecule of concern.
If you choose to ignore ALL the information available about Mr Obama just as the conspiracy theorists chose to ignore the eyewitness accounts of the plane which flew into the Pentagon on 9/11, in favor of some kind of spaceship or whatever theory, you won’t get any further with your microscope thingy.
Mr Obama has been under more microscopes than any American I can remember has…

Also- inspect your own notions of change… What is it you wanted? The idea that FRESH FACES necessarily trump those we know has a whole set of pitfalls in itself… a lot of those fresh faces get pretty RIPE pretty fast.

Maybe that 28% is the number of Americans that know the difference between Sarah Palin and Tina Fey. Sarah Palin is the one who said Alaska shares a narrow maritime border with Russia. Tina Fey is the one who can look out her window and see Russia.

Unbelievable. You and all your Neo-con leg-humpers, “Ignorance is Bliss” leaning idiots need to sit down and shut the hell up. You are rude, ignorant, and hardly in any position to judge anyone, particularly someone as successful as Barak Obama.

Thank Heaven close minded loud mouthed individuals such Sean, Rush, Ann aren’t in charge of anything but there blind FOLLOWERS whereby your total idiocy can be expressed with a telephone and a closed mind. I realize that wingnut asses need to display such a vile, mean spirited, bigoted manner. That is unfortunately their main ability.

Labels, name calling, divisiveness, mean, foul, vomit inducing abject stupidity are but just a few of the things that characterize ALL GOP kool-aid drinkers. In your case, add oral septic tank discharge among other vile components of this hare filled discourse.

Sean, Rush, Ann, Sarah hold the attention and respect of MILLIONS of stupid idiots EVERY SINGLE DAY. Look at the low life creep Coleman in Minnesota as a prime example of just the same sort of stupidity, lies, corruption, and outright lack of respect that encompass the so called GOP point of view. What a dismal failure, not once, but over and over, and over again.

The same hold true for Free Republic and Little Green Footballs, et al. Nothing more than hate. They have no interest in informed debate. They have no interest in good government. What accomplishment have they made? Other than this offensive septic tank discharge blog.

Age is supposed to evolve into some sort of wisdom, but as we can see by McCain, there isn’t any.

Well, if you want intelligent debate, calling the president elect “the DallyBama” is not the best place to start. (and, by the way, the spelling is “Dalai” if you’re trying to make a clever pun about the Dalai Lama)

And I’m not sure he’s being all that contradictory. Yes, he talked about change. But he also talked about getting the best people, too. Some of those people have been in Washington before, yes. Is having ONLY outsiders the best way to do things? No. To make a real dent in the current American situation, the best minds need to be tapped. Experience also needs to be taken into account. Not only do new ideas and new people become important, but those who have overseen successful programs/initiatives in the past are also valuable.

Obama is someone who surrounds himself with people who can help him make the best decisions- he thinks deeply about things and wants to get educated, not just surround himself with people who all think the same way.

I don’t see that as contradictory to his campaign message at all, but I suppose perspective plays a large role in these things, and yours is obviously different from mine.

I also thought of the correlation between the McCarthy era and the Bush years. Frankly, I was scared of where our government was heading. I too wondered why so few people look back at history to learn lessons that are valuable in the future.

You make so many intelligent, interesting points. That is what makes you so popular. Well, that plus your humor and bluntness.

I welcome open dialogue, honest discussion of issues, and adult conversation….I think it’s healthy…so don’t think I’m here to just post something to cause a rant or tyraid.

I do have to ask, with your obvious skills of analysis, and desire to speak your mind….I’d love for you to use the same degree of investigation on the great “DallyBama”, especially in light of the many promises he made, and, before even being sworn in is already contradicting.

Don’t get me wrong…I didn’t vote for McCain, and especially Palin either…..I had just as many issues with them, so I voted for a third party….

But, since the DallyBama has been elected, why not speak to keeping him true to what he promised….he has much more power to influence our world that Sarah will in the end.

He promised change, but is just re-installing the good ole boys and people already a part of the Washington network he criticized….I just wish somene would put him under the microscope.

tsfiles-
“(Nevermind the fact that it is our side which actually understands economics while it is the Democrat Party which has engineered a global economic crisis because of ignorance of the free market. Nevermind liberal support for such economically ignorant ideas like minimum wage, unions, “windfall profits taxes,” etc.

So much for “intelligence.”) ”

————————————

Since Democrats and plenty of non-affiliated AMERICANs just spent 8 years listening to you and your friends’ rants about how you all understand economics and suchlike we have plenty of concern about where your feet and brains are.
You pop up here wanting to shout about less-than-polite remarks made by the rest of AMERICA towards those who made this mess?

You want to blame the Dems and the rest of America for the mess you all made when you got to run with the ball? Mr Phil Gramm is the unrepentant architect of much of this house of cards we are suffocating under. Go ask him what the heck happened…

I , for one , want to hear some different voices. We have just about ruined this fine old country playing by your take on social-Darwinism.
Economics is the STUDY of a HUMAN activity…not a thing nor a Holy Grail.

We study it, we ponder it, we argue about what the best and most powerful tools we can take away to work with might be- from this study…

Since your next post is all that x-files take on Mr Obama – how he must be an alien cuz YOU refuse to accept any evidence that he has lived his life out in the open amongst other Americans –
you have ended all conversation with any but those who agree with you.
I don’t know what you have at stake in believing all that silliness but it must be powerful… It sounds like you want a small tidy world where you know all the rules.
Sometimes, I WISH things worked that way but there is just too much activity and evidence to believe the rest of the world goes away if you just shut your eyes and plug your ears…and repeat some mantra of everyone-else-is-wrong-but-me. You cannot drown out the EXISTENCE of the rest of the world, no matter how loud you shout I’ve found.

Nor can you ask folks to stay polite all the time- especially when you and some of your neighbors like hfjj1031 keep trying to reserve the right to insult anyone who thinks differently.
Baloney on phony hypocritical calls for politeness and “intelligent” discussion like yours.
Baloney.

That whopping 28% consists of the ignorant and the intolerant. We don’t really want them in our camp, do we? Let them continue to live their hate-filled lives; it only provides entertainment for the rest of us. 😀

My daddy was like you. He hated everyone and a commie was out to get him. The two things he liked were drinking (chronic alcohol) and smoking.
He lived hating and he died hating. He would have listened to Rush and Sean.

OK, picture this: I have a miserable head cold, I’m looking for a job in this crummy economy, I’m exhausted from entertaining non-stop for the last week, and my house is a wreck. I stumble out of bed, fumble for some coffee, and make my way to the living room, and all of you are in here, cutting up and calling it like it is. All 375 of you or however many.

I instantly feel better.

And I laugh out loud at the imbecile who calls us names and denigrates our intelligence for calling SP names and denigrating her intelligence. Can you spell I_R_O_N_Y?

Isn’t ranting about communists so…yesterday? Hey, it’s the 21st century! Wake up and get out of the 1950’s!

I suppose I should be thankful that a few idiots in tin-foil hats are returning — I was becoming a bit bored reading nothing but glowing comments of Helen and Margaret.

Ann Coulter can try as hard as she might to rehabilitate McCarthy, but I don’t think it’s working. For a more balanced view of his life and, ahem, works, visit Wikipedia. It’s especially worthwhile to delve a bit deeper by clicking on some of the footnotes.

Unbelievable. You and all your Liberal Communist leaning friends need to sit down and shut the hell up. You are rude, ignorant, and hardly in any position to judge anyone, particularly someone as successful as Sarah Palin.

Thank Heaven close minded loud mouthed individuals such as yourself aren’t in charge of anything but this little blog whereby your total idiocy can be expressed with a modem and internet access. I realize that Liberal asses need to display such a vile, mean spirited, bigoted manner. That is unfortunately their main ability.

Labels, name calling, divisiveness, mean, foul, vomit inducing abject stupidity are but just a few of the things that characterize ALL Liberals. In your case, add oral septic tank discharge among other vile components of this hare filled discourse.

Sean, Rush, Ann, Sarah hold the attention and respect of MILLIONS of people EVERY SINGLE DAY. Look at the low life creep AL in Minnesota as a prime example of just the same sort of stupidity, lies, corruption, and outright lack of respect that encompass the so called Progressive point of view. What a dismal failure, not once, but over and over, and over again.

The same hold true for your blog, and you. Nothing more than hate. You have no interest in informed debate. You have no interest in good government. What accomplishment have you made? Other than this offensive septic tank discharge blog.

You claim to be 83 years old. You say you went through McCarthy. Age is supposed to evolve into some sort of wisdom. Here, there isn’t any, well representative of Eugene all over again.

Helen, I love your spunk! I thought that I was the only one who ranted and raved about that idiot Palin and the fact that she hasn’t disappeared…yet. I mean really, after the election, without her pre-written speeches, everything she said to the media reflected her limited intelligence. She’s a bitch and an idiot to boot ( let’s not even mention the Republican aspect…)
I love what you do, keep it up! Check out my blog, you’re 82, I’m 28 but we have more in common than you might think!
Best wishes,
Bevan aka the democraddict.

Palin’s appeal is that she’s a train wreck. It’s like watching Britney Spears step out of a limo. You know what’s going to happen. You know you’re going to cringe, but you’re kinda glad it happened anyway because it’s free entertainment. And with the economy so bad, isn’t it great to have some good free entertainment?

Let Palin be the poster child for the intelligence-deficient. They only make the rest of us look better.

There’s a reason guys like Hannity, Limbaugh and O’Reilly are so frightened of some form of restoration of the Fairness Doctrine. It’s not because it would remove them from the air, as they like to lie about to their listeners, but because it would actually require them to be fair by carrying opposing viewpoints. Ya know, that balance thing you’ve heard so much about on Fox “News” where they’re just kidding about it. If they weren’t kidding about it, why would they be so terrified about restoring what Reagan did away with in 1987, which then allowed for the Hannitys, Limbaughs and O’Reillys to go on air, on virtually every single station, in every single market, to freely lie to the public via its own airwaves?…

Oh Helen, my love and respect for you grows each day. Despite the haters, you continue to show grace under fire – and isn’t that the true definition of class? Unlike, you know, Sarah Palin?

I wonder about the people that support her. I don’t fault them for staunchy defending her, I just wonder why they bother? Although I suppose that she’s so intolerant of those that disagree with her that why should her followers be any different. I don’t have much respect for McCain these days, but I will say one thing about him – he saw things in shades of grey. She’s all about black and white; Republicans and Democrats, real America and fake America.

Helen,
This is one 28%er who likes your blog! I disagree with most of your opinions, but you write so well, that it is a pleasure to read the opposite view! I love it that you are in your 80’s and blogging away, you have a great attitude and are still young in my book. Right now I am hoping for a Palin-Jindal ticket in 2012!

“Perhaps so many of our less-educated Americans are contesting the status of Obama’s American birth because they haven’t figured out that Hawaii is NOT A FOREIGN COUNTRY!!”

ROFL!! Could be very true; after all, Cokie Roberts even called Hawaii “an exotic foreign place”. . . how can anyone so intelligent be so geographically challenged?
Oh well. . . maybe Cokie can go to Wasilla and help SP look for Putin’s head rearing up over the Alaskan Airspace. . .

Dear Helen, As I said before, I love your postings. They make me laugh. I could read them all, but I have work to do.
I am not a Republican, but my best friend is. It works because we don’t talk about politics or religion – trust me, we do have a lot of other stuff to talk about. I see you live in Bush territory. Hmmm. When I first saw a picture of Sr. on the TV during the Ollie North thing, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and the thought that came into my head was pure evil. I can’t explain it.
My best friend and I now live in the UK, so we do get some distorted views on US politics. They hate Sarah Palin here and I think she is an ass. I don’t care if you are a real or made up person (think of Bridget Jone’s Diary) I think you are on the money and hilarious. And I agree on the breastfeeding thing. Be discreet. The 4 year old thing is kind of yukky. Looking forward to reading more. I can’t believe a publisher hasn’t approached you for a book deal! All the best.

I can’t go more than a couple of days without returning to read your blog. It’s the highlight of my internet surfing. It’s amazing to me how “personal” an arguement with a Limbaugh, Hannity and Fox News devote can become in a very short time. I have grown to expect it to become ugly in less than a minute and after 8 years of it, I get quite a kick out of it. It seems being called a “Commy” tickles me now. Of course it always seems to disturb the other side when I start laughing. Wonder why?

I’m loving your blog – it’s so well-written and insightful. Why haven’t you been snapped up by someone? You could be an 83-year-old overnight success story!

One of the reactions from Palin fans that startled me was the “people are jealous” reaction. Which makes no sense whatsoever. If a female blogger said that Palin was a crazy, gun-obsessed, ignorant hick someone would go “oh they’re just jealous ‘cos they don’t have the gams!”. Really? That’s the level we’re down to?

Oh, and Tarri, that “shoes on powerlines indicate drug dealers houses” thing is an urban myth. Not true.

“Barack Obama is a U.S. born citizen with an authentic birth certificate. ”

Authentic? Really?

To date, Obama has not released the following:

1. Occidental College records — Not released
2. Columbia College records — Not released
3. Columbia Thesis paper — not available, locked down by faculty
4. Harvard College records — Not released, locked down by faculty
5. Selective Service Registration — Not released
6. Medical records — Not released
7. Illinois State Senate schedule — “not available”
8. Law practice client list — Not released
9. Certified Copy of original Birth certificate – – Not released
10. Embossed, signed paper Certification of Live Birth — Not released
11. Harvard Law Review articles published — None
12. University of Chicago scholarly articles — None
13. Record of baptism — Not released or “not available”
14. Illinois State Senate records — “not available”.

None of this disturbs you apparently.

If Obama was a Republican, you and the other Obamabots would be howling like starved wolves.

Obama’s status as natural born citizen is in doubt. His response has been to hide behind lawyers filing procedural motions. Obama could silence his critics quickly: produce a valid birth certificate.

The possibility of having a President who is ineligible for the Office should scare you, but all you can muster are snide comments. Little wonder you support this fraud.

“All those people reading my little blog and getting so upset. Who knew there were so many people who still enjoy hearing Palin talk? Then again who knew Palin supporters were smart enough to read?”

Not sure why anyone would comment on your age. (Most 18 year olds voting don’t know their ass from their elbow.) Much more significant is the fact that you obsess over a woman who LOST an election. Somehow Palin, who, if she were Democrat, would receive your praise and love, is STILL a threat to you.

Smearing the intelligence of conservatives is really tired and invalid. In fact, it is not intelligence which you speak of at all. You’re equating ideology with intelligence, which is such an invalid comparison, it’s almost laughable. Lucky for you, I respect my elders, even when they fail to understand what they write about. (Nevermind the fact that it is our side which actually understands economics while it is the Democrat Party which has engineered a global economic crisis because of ignorance of the free market. Nevermind liberal support for such economically ignorant ideas like minimum wage, unions, “windfall profits taxes,” etc.

So much for “intelligence.”)

The political commentary on your blog is rudimentary at best. That’s much worse than something as superficial as age.

You ARE my piece of pie, sister. What I would really like is for you to read my (blogpost) letter to President-elect Obama, and comment about how cool it is. Then maybe I would be sought out by hordes of these people who hate on you so much, because there’s nothing that I’d like better than to feel like I was right beside you, driving them up their own anal tract with out of crazed resentment over what I’d written.

Amazing! My opinion is garbage and theirs is gospel truth. When a “liberal” shares a thought or position, she is a Socialist fool. When a “conservative(?)” does so, she is a prophet!

Hey, I think I am getting the hang of this. Helen, I love it that you are calling BS. You do it so eloquently, and as far as I can tell, you even know how to proofread and spell.

I am amazed at how Obama is being blamed for things that happened before he was ever even running for office. I can hardly wait to see what it is that I am going to be “crying about” in the next year. Someone stopped by my blog and told me that my tears of joy will turn to tears of mourning when we see what he does once in office.

Well, I have been mourning the last 8 years as my business and my civil rights have all gone down the tube with Republican economics and Homeland Security. And don’t even get me started about health care. One of the makers of one of my prescriptions was in China (I didn’t get mine there…thank God) and when the Chinese version killed some people, they pulled it off the market. The supply was low for a while and now seems to be fine–and the cost has increased 3.5 times!

so i was watching cnn earlier and saw a story on sarah palin stumping for saxby chambliss. a reporter asked her a question about running in 2012 and she said something like, “i’m just happy to be back doing my work!” she said that as she was signing autographs while stumping for chambliss IN GEORGIA! i’m not entirely sure she knows what a governor does.

don’t waste too much time with the haters, helen. hope margaret writes again soon.

I know you’d like Sarah Palin to make her way back to Wasilla and quietly go about the business of destroying Alaska, but she can’t. She’s a true narcissist who has tasted the wine of national press attention. The call to 24/7 exposure beckons like a bottle of Mad Dog 20/20 to a New York city wino. She’s just a girl who can’t say, “No”, especially when it means extending her 15 minutes of fame into a few weeks (or four more years).

You two ought to syndicate your blog and make some cash off your insightful comments and fabulous humorous and conversational style. As an advertising writer, I recognize innate talent, and ladies, you, as they say, “got it.”

I have to tell you both, reading your blog reminded me of my Great Aunt Blanche, who, bless her, died at the ripe old age of 94. She was the executive secretary for Dale Carnegie back “in the day” when he was first famous — and women typically were not executive secretaries to famous and influential people. And my dear Aunt Blanche lived her life in the most admirable, ever-youthful, joyous, inquiring, involved and loving way that was a fiery source of spiritual inspiration to me.

That being said, I see through your well-woven facade of “shootin’ feisty from the hip” as being the core essence of who you are. But really, I believe that, right underneath that layer, lie your amazingly large and caring hearts and true desire to make a positive impact on the world in a kind and loving way. And I believe you can both rest assured that you do. You can’t fool me.

I’ve decided to make you honorary Great Aunts, in honor of my memories of Great Aunt Blanche. I sure hope you don’t mind.

We miss you, Margaret. Please come back soon. Gee Helen, I didn’t know you and ‘Ole Abe were an item! I bow to the wisdom of your seniority. I am MUCH younger than you. I am only 79. Today your post was a classic! You keep outdoing yourself.

This is the first time I have participated in a blog so I don’t know exactly what the rules are. Tell Mathew I am trying to keep my comment down to about 25-30KB. Is that OK?

I have a little more to say where I left off about our international saga in Turkey. We took off for the Istanbul airport. There was a mix-up so we missed our flight on Turkish Airlines and had to take another one to Cappadocia. It was only a little over an hour’s flight. Our seats together were by the emergency exit. The flight attendant politely asked us if we would mind changing our seats. She led us to separate seats near the back of the plane. My husband fumed, age discrimination! He was convinced that he was quite capable of opening the door in the event of an emergency.

We arrived at a teeny-tiny little airport out in the middle of nowhere in central Turkey. There was no one to meet us. We scrounged around and finally found someone who spoke English to make a phone call for us. If you don’t speak the language, it is amazing how well you can communicate with gestures and smiles. It doesn’t hurt to also look like helpless, confused old people. We were and are!

Our guide showed up finally. We took off in a taxi, (taksi) for a lonely sixty-mile ride across a flat moonscape-like semi-desert landscape. The closer we came to Cappadocia, the weirder it became. Jutting out into the sky every which-a-way were huge strange and bizarre formations of sandstone. Cappadocia is a vast region with numerous towns and villages.

Pre-historic inhabitants as far back as the 8th and 7th Millennia BC lived first in the natural CAVES and later carved out whole underground CITIES from the soft sandstone.

At one time or another, several THOUSAND people lived in each city. It was quite practical; warm in the winter, cool in the summer with no insects. I don’t know about bats. We were there in the daytime so they may have been sleeping.

Further, they could roll a six-foot round millstone in front of the entrance from the inside and it was impregnable to enemies. There are 40 some-odd underground cave cities in Cappadocia.

My husband is a would-be-spelunker. As you can see, we go WAY out of our way to go tramping around in caves. I think they are generally a little creepy. But the cave city we toured at Kaymakli was fascinating! It was five stories high. The animals were kept on the first floor. The upper floors were living quarters and apartments with kitchens, pantries, bathrooms, a winery, cisterns, airshafts, etc. We spent three days tramping around through a wide variety of caves.

The point I am getting to in this round about way is that CAVES were and are common habitation in the Middle East. Many, many early Christians fled to Cappadocia to escape Roman and later Muslim Turk persecution. The geological conditions made it easier to hide. They also built ornate churches in caves. The walls were covered with exquisite ancient frescos.

The Apostle John lived in a CAVE in exile on the Greek Island of PATMOS. He wrote the book of “Revelations” there. Mohammed was in a CAVE when according to the Koran, the Angel Gabriel appeared to him for the first time. More recently, Ben Ladin has spent lots of his time in a CAVE. In the Mormon tradition, the Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith in Fayette, NY in 1830. I don’t know whether Joseph Smith was in a cave or not.

Does anyone see a pattern here?

Our flight back to Istanbul was uneventful. When we arrived back in our ancient hotel, tn the lobby the cats were still sleeping and the parrot was still meowing. The lone desk clerk, bless his heart, took pity on us and had booked us in a room on the first floor. We didn’t have to brave that treacherous spiral stone staircase anymore! Lufthansa had delivered our lost luggage and the dear desk clerk had placed them in our room. We were sure glad to see them, as our outer clothes were getting pretty ripe! We had tried not to get downwind of anybody.

We went back to see “Mike” and had apple tea and dinner with him again. We bought, among other things, some of that yummy apple tea for family, friends and ourselves. ”Mike” sat us down with some more apple tea and gave us the standard demonstration and sales pitch for handmade Turkish rugs. As time went on, we were to sit through the same ritual, apple tea and all, through several more of those demonstra- tions. The rugs are exquisite, but way, way, way out of our price range.

With fond memories, we left Istanbul on a sailing vessel cruise of several Turkish ports including Izmir (ancient Smyrna) and EPHESUS. Then on down the Greek Isles to Patmos and Kos, the home of Hippocrates. We sailed on to Crete and back up to end the cruise in Athens.

The ship used power to get out of the harbor, but unfurled the sails as we left the “Golden Horn” (harbor) into the Sea of Marama. As we stood at the ships railing, they turned the soundtrack music from the movie “1492” on the loudspeaker system. We could see the European and Asian skylines of the city.

We retraced the route of Xerxes, Alexander the Great and countless others from the dawn of history; hugging the Gallipoli Peninsula, through the Dardanelles (ancient Hellespont) and into the Aegean Sea.

In the old fashioned definition of the word, it was an AWESOME experience.

Loved the blog… very well stated. I find it funny / sad that so many people work themselves up into a froth when it comes to this…
All those people who swear the Obama is really a Muslim and will be the downfall of our country.
But it’s not racism…. its not…

“I always wonder when I see a pair of shoes hanging from a very high power line. I wonder why someone would throw a perfectly good pair of shoes away like that. I wonder if they had to make more than one toss to get the shoes that high. I wonder if they had to walk home barefoot. Governor Palin reminds me of those hanging shoes; there’s no good reason for her to be hanging around, but some fool thought it was a good idea to toss her out there for all to see. Sooner or later we’ll find something better to look at and question, but until then she and the shoes will make us wonder. Thanks for your awesome ”

missharleyquinn; actually, at least the shoes on the power lines have a purpose, they mark houses that sell drugs.

Wow, you are amazing!!!
Yeah, we here in Georgia were just thrilled to bits that Sarah came to stump for that vile bastard Saxby Chambliss. I voted early and against him and I personally hope Sarah has the same effect on Saxby’s campaign that she did on John Mc’s.

I don’t even know you but you are my new Hero. A. You are how old and have a blog? and B. You just gave me the best laugh I’ve had in some time. This entry is so right on, I’m going to have to come back and read your blog often!

Helen and Margaret, I absolutely LOVE your blog, and I am so happy you are writing. As a geriatric social worker, former memoir writing instructor, quilter, Yellow Dog Democrat, and a sassy gal descended from a long line of sassy gals…I salute you both. Don’t let the naysayers get you down, and keep telling it like it is! As my great-grandmother said to me many years ago, “Tell ’em to go shit in their hat!” Outrageous older women are awesome, and you two are my role models! Sending hugs and lots of pie…..

Damn, I hit the wrong key…time to go to bed…but I was just trying to say that we have a long way to go, yes, I am naive, and I just hope that we can begin to find a way that gets across to the 72% of the population that we won’t accept bullshit from the bullies any more because those bullies are evil.

I defer to greater minds than mine…that’s nearly everyone this late at night, especially! Good night all.

Kewalo, I take no offense in your comments. I’m the first to admit I’m no authority on fighting a candidate’s battles successfully. I just admire the path chosen by Obama…he resisted the angry bullying ways of his opponents and stuck to his plan to try to get his points across in a sane, respectful manner.

I also feel that there’s an elephant in the room. It’s all this defensive posturing to react to the bullying tactics of the O’Reilly crowd, instead of calling it McCarthyism and reminding our citizens of our history with the hatefulness and evil of our past. McCARTHYISM, FOLKS! IT’S EVIL McCARTHYISM…THAT’S THE GAME THAT COULTER ETAL ARE PLAYING ON OUR CANDIDATES.

I don’t do pie. How about cake? Or ice cream? I can’t explain it. I just don’t like pie.

Did you see today that Joe, the fake plumber, has his book out? It’s hillarious! His upper body on the cover. I asked my husband, “How can someone so stupid possiblly write a book that fast? It doesn’t make sense.”

I agree w/others suggesting pie (okay cake AND pie) for the innauguration. Ask Matthew about “liveblogging.” It is so much fun! (My 21 year old son, Matthew, is also a computer geek!).

Speaking of “walking on water,” I’ve got a story for you. Last week my husband came home from work. He told me his boss (a female) told him he walks on water. I just looked at him and said, “Let’s go upstairs and fill the tub so we can see how that works!” He laughed.

Seriously, my husband is a good guy and a hard worker. But NO ONE should be equated to the Messiah. No good can come from that beyond an over-inflated ego!

But Barack is having some great press conferences these days. Today, it pre-empted The View! Fifty percent less of Elisabitch Hasselbeck is always a good thing!

Anyway, I think Barack Obama has done more work on his pre-presidency than the dumbass in the White House over the past eight years! Now, that’s what I call change!

From an Alaskan to writerzhand-
“Interesting view on Sarah Palin. … You do not know her personally, and you have heard only what the liberal media say about her. I would encourage you to go and find something positive about her. It would make your argument that she is a dim person so much better. ”
—————————
While I am interested in your notion that finding something positive about Ms Palin would make Helen’s argument that the gov is dim better I am going to skip right on by…
I don’t know what you call the liberal media but my primary local news is my small town paper, neighbors, and the Anchorage Daily News ( which Alaskans EQUALLY revile for being too conservative or too liberal…to me they are pretty middle of the road.)
Folks have spent an enormous amount of time trying to decide whether the gov is dim or bright. I have come to believe it doesn’t matter. Alaskans got snookered and more of us are waking up to it everyday.
Ms Palin built her platform on reform. The only reform she has made is within her own Alaskan Republican party.
Ms Palin vowed to bring ethical and open and transparent government to Alaska. She has dropped the curtain over so many of her office’s affairs we are in a virtual blackout here. It’s hard to tell what the gov thinks is ethical because she won’t sit still long enough to really discuss it.

Please be careful about this “look to the future” thing. Without a strong sense of where your/our feet are now and where they WERE in the past , the future is meaningless.

We need some kind of voter’s support group up here to cope with our own stupidity- “OMG, why DO we keep doing this to ourselves?” doesn’t lend itself to an acronym but it describes the anguish.
We elected a very corrupt governor before Ms Palin. The toadying and backroom deals he made with the big oil companies are legend. Ms Palin convinced enough Alaskans she was a FRESH outsider ethical FACE that she got elected. At the time we were barely able to look at ourselves in the mirror. since then we found out you can have backrooms on Blackberrys.
She did manage to work with a bi-partisan majority to re-negotiate oil royalties and pass a probably better gasline act. We were able to ignore the weirder whispers out of Wasilla about her because she seemed to be staying on track.
High oil prices and full state coffers heightened the sleepy attitude we were getting into…

Troopergate , as it has come to be called, worried enough folks in the legislature that they voted to investigate the governor’s behavior. The gov has managed to convince a lot of folks that she was vindicated in both investigations… not to a growing number of Alaskans. We don’t trust her anymore.
But the final- irretrievable-straw, for me, was finding out some of the weirder whispers out of Wasilla were true… the gov’s behavior during the VP run was beneath contempt on a variety of fronts. Her patent refusal to deal with the hate she stirred up is inexcusable. The gov will not take the same responsibility for her OWN words that she demands of others.
So, watch out for the fresh face thing too. They can get ripe pretty fast.

Watch out for deciding politicians are all corrupt too. We voted em in there. We need to pay more attention to what we are doing and WHY and not get distracted by fresh faces and other gobbeldegook .

Polity= the group
Politics=the business of the group
Politicians= the folks WE hire to do the business of the group

the Group= ALL living and breathing members of America or Alaska or Maine…

Go check out Mudflats and read the Alaskans For Truth site…We are HER neighbors.

And no, dddd-
Ms Palin is not the best we could do…we just frickin blew it!! Again!
We don’t really want her back either but we have to try to clean up our own mess.

Elsie-
You are NOT naive…just not tough enough yet…
Keep reading and working .
You are finding a strong voice… Remember to buy stock in an antacid company , you’ll be needing them by the bushel, but keep working!

It’s terrific to see women past the age of retirement proving to the world that she’s still relevant. That she still has a voice and she’s not afraid to make it heard—despite the fact that so many seem to believe women are dead after 40 (Hollywood…I’m looking in your general direction!).

And as silly as it may seem, I’m truly impressed by your acceptance of “technology”. My father is almost 80—quite active and in relatively good health—and yet he can’t even use a bank machine for crying out loud! He’s intimidated by technology. So it’s nice to see that there are those in his age range that clearly aren’t spooked by the “in-ter-net” and are even willing to embrace it.

God bless you (and Margaret). I hope you both continue to set loose your views and opinions for many years to come.

Writershand: Someone may have mentioned this, but you might want to wander over to mudflats.wordpress.com and have a gander. You’ll get an Alaskan’s point of view on Palin–lots of good factual information, but yes, there is opinion–hard not to have one with all the fuel Ms. Palin has provided. And I am trying to be respectful!

So, can anyone clue me in to Hilary’s Village? I went over there to see what the deal was after Helen’s last post attracted so much attention. I don’t understand how they can state their mission is to be soooo respectful, and then act like SP is a goddess? I had to scramble back here for safety.

Helen, you are my hero! I’m so glad you and Margaret are continuing to blog even after the election. I keep coming back just to read what you say. I love how you cut through the crap and get right to the heart of matters.

I LOVE YOU!!! 28% is still a scary statistic. Keep writing your blog. Maybe you’ll convert some of them. Unfortunately, “The Watcher” may not be one of the converts. My advice to “The Watcher”: you either need to go clean your glasses or you gotta open your eyes if wanna see something. ‘Cause I don’t know what you’ve been watching.

Thanks for your words of wisdom. During election time I was hung on who to vote for. Although Barack brought fresh air and vitality there is a certain danger to his depth of experience. I like McCain and thought he should have been the the Republican candidate in 2000. Sarah Palin just scared the crap out of me. Her literal stance on religion and obvious lack of real leadership experience combined with the more than usual likelihood of her becoming president midterm just scared me to the blue. In retrospect, the blue appointing Supreme Court justices and a unified congress and executive branch just makes the choice that much more obvious.
Just curious, Margaret and Helen- We heard a lot a media hype about this being the most important election in memory. From your historical perspectives was this the case?

Just wanted to see if I’d get the same quilt square. :o) Hey, have you written about Prop 8 in CA? I’m new here so I apologize if that’s been covered. I’ve been married for 33 years and am very straight but I just do not see how you can deny rights to any tax paying citizen. I don’t believe it’s a religious issue – in my eyes it’s strictly legal. My best friend is Mormon and she and I do not see eye to eye on gay marriage, she keeps telling me that somehow gays marrying hurts kids and “regular” marriage. For the life of me I cannot see how it would make any difference to my marriage. Can someone tell me how, legally, we can tell one section of citizens – who pay the same taxes we do – that they can’t enjoy all the rights afforded “normal” people? I’d really love to hear your thoughts on this issue.

Elsie, I hope you won’t take this the wrong way, but I do think you’re being a little naive. Negative ads do work. I think where we were lucky this time is that the 527’s spent so little money early, and I doubt they will make that mistake again.

And I think you have more faith in the people then I do. Just think of the number of people that still think that Obama is a commie, socialist, Muslim who was not born here. It’s just freaken astounding. And I have no doubt the idiot is going to win the election tomorrow.

I’m not sure what we can do about it and I think a lot of us did a lot of good combating the lies this time around. But I do think we somehow need to come up with a plan for the next time.

But I will say, thank God for people like Helen and another good Texan. She kept me laughing while trying to turn TX blue.

Helen- It is possible to be classy and cuss like a sailor at the same time. I’m glad to see that you can do both quite well. You are a great example that it’s much more fun to keep speaking and raise some hell instead of sitting back and suffering while the ignorant asses do the talking.

I am so glad you write and do it with such wit. That is why I come here, to laugh and to see intelligence at work. I am one of those people that cannot spell (LOL). I mispelled the word “unintelligent” in my post the other day and I was mortified. That said, I so admire how you came back with your retort today. I really do, I mean it. Thanks a lot for showing the rest of us how to keep it up and how not to let anybody bash our spirit. Thanks a lot.

I always wonder when I see a pair of shoes hanging from a very high power line. I wonder why someone would throw a perfectly good pair of shoes away like that. I wonder if they had to make more than one toss to get the shoes that high. I wonder if they had to walk home barefoot. Governor Palin reminds me of those hanging shoes; there’s no good reason for her to be hanging around, but some fool thought it was a good idea to toss her out there for all to see. Sooner or later we’ll find something better to look at and question, but until then she and the shoes will make us wonder. Thanks for your awesome posts. 🙂

Jewel of a Sarah quote:
“The choice there in many months of the Juneau mansion being re-plumbed and all the improvements being made in the infrastructure of the Juneau house, where we weren’t going to be there anyway. Knowing that in the end it would have cost the state more money to do what other governors had done and this is either charge the state for hotel rooms or the state rents you an apartment like they did for Governor Murkowski. We said no, we just won’t sell our house, knowing that we’re going to spend quite a bit of time here, especially those months where the remodels were taking place in the governor’s mansion.”

And:
“Of course, it’s a fungible commodity and they don’t flag, you know, the molecules, where it’s going and where it’s not. But in the sense of the Congress today, they know that there are very, very hungry domestic markets that need that oil first. So, I believe that what Congress is going to do, also, is not to allow the export bans to such a degree that it’s Americans who get stuck holding the bag without the energy source that is produced here, pumped here. It’s got to flow into our domestic markets first.”

Kewalo:
President-Elect Obama ran a decent campaign. Although he was attacked repeatedly, viciously, and cruelly, he methodically stayed on his messages. He did not rebut the lies with the same venom spewed at him. Instead, he addressed some of the garbage, but always in an intelligent manner, like the decent man I believe him to be.

My possibly naive hope would be to try to teach the American people the evils and related dangers of McCarthyism, what the country was like back then, and how damaging this new, regurgitated version of evil today is to us now.

Forewarned is forearmed, but I think the American people, the majority who voted for Senator/now President-Elect Obama, saw through the Rovian tactics and recognized the intelligence and decency of the Democratic candidate.

I say we try to loudly, forcefully, expose the evil, and the evil-doers, for what they are. Call it McCarthyism for what it is…bullying, character assassination, demonizing, and polarizing. I hope the decent candidates choose to avoid the Rovian bullshit, like our new president-elect did, and that we can turn the page to a newer standard of politics here.

Am I completely naive? I hope not. But, if we are gonna dream, let’s dream BIG!

My wife and I, fellow Texans (she’s a native and a retired detective, I’m a relocated yankee and former military who fell in love with her strong sense and defense of what’s right) down the road a bit in an extremely “red” county just north of Travis County.

We’ll, we seemed to have been liberal leaning Democrats for years, but never knew. Granted we had a Kinky for Gov sign on our lawn. I guess we got clued in a bit with the advent of Newt and that bunch started the slow drum (or Bible) beat and attacked what I always saw as the best quality of Texans…a fierce independent nature in defense of their own. Granted it may have been their own “chinamen”, “homos”, “Jews”, “negroes” or “meskins”, “crazy loons” or whatever.

Each town had their own minority. Austin has Leslie! Okay, maybe only the locals know about Leslie, but God forbid an outsider, or even a local, try messing with Leslie’s right to parade down Congress in his/her spangled hot pants and day-glo-tube top.

I doubt even Governor Good Hair Perry would take a run at that! That arrogant cuss…

My point is…your blog lets me know we aren’t oddities. We aren’t oldsters careening into our golden years on the slick skies of senility just because we can see through politician’s malarkey. This, from years of playing the game side by side with them as a cop and a soldier in command positions.

My question is, now that we know what is going to be the argument of the 28% base, can we make it drop to 22% by again making education an important part of our government responsibility?

I have the opinion that the Republicans argue on emotion, Democrats argue using reason. Many times the emotional argument turns off the thought process. I appreciate that you fantastic octogenarians challenge the emotional to think.

Hey, Helen! I’m glad you (and Margaret) are not daunted by the haters, and I hope they didn’t ruin any part of *your* weekend. I’m here from mudflats and also from my sister’s blog (deirdrea.wordpress.com)

I read that article yesterday and totally agree with you about the McCarthyism. It was a dark time. My cousin Jimmy worked for the studios and was worried about losing his job, because plenty of people did.

But we also need to put that together with the Rovian way of politics too. That is, going after someone on the biggest strength. Like Cleland being called a coward by a draft dodger. And actually using John Kerry’s Vietnam service against him.

Now that the RW has lost I think we can expect them to get worse and worse and I think we need to be prepared for it. I’m not sure if there’s anything we can do ahead of time. But forewarned is forearmed.

Dear Helen, You can’t get rid of me. It might seem, sometimes, that what you are doing is a little thing. The Rush Limbaughs and Ann Coulters have radio shows and books and get quoted on lots of other shows, so their loud and uninformed and often mean-spirited opinions (or “carrying water for the Republicans” as Rush deems it) seem to be everywhere. But your little blog, along with others who speak out about their concerns, are making a real difference.

The 28% would like you to shut up because they managed to shut up liberals or progressives on radio, now that nearly all stations are in the hands of corporations. Just today I read that the Washington Post media ombudsman claims, in spite of her own research, that McCain was treated unfairly by that paper. Gee, I guess I missed all those pro-Obama articles. They would put Michael Moore in prison if they could. There are now all of TWO non-conservative cable TV shows and the 28% whine and moan about that.

What we have is you, and AKMuckraker, and Markos Moulitsas and MacYapper in Pittsburgh and others who just won’t be silenced.

You keep writing, Helen. And I’ll keep reading. We will do what we can to salvage the country from the mess these greedy, stupid, selfish people have made of it.

Well, no surprises there, its just like them to try forcing their views on everyone else.

To the troll that threatened making Margaret, Helen and their readers lives ‘a living hell’ if they can do better than the past 8 years I say that’s aiming pretty high, frankly most Americans that voted for Obama have a pretty high pain threshold, so good luck! No wonder there was dancing in the streets of THE WORLD the night of Nov. 4. When was there **ever** such jubilation after an election?

my favorite comment was the one that wrote about throwing the designer jacket under the bus, I’m still chuckling over that image.

mmmm pie is good! thanks so much for having us over Helen, I love you.

How does anyone think that Caribou Barbie would be nominated in 2012 when two-thirds of the GOP can’t stomach her? There is nothing more I’d love to see than a smart, competent woman as president. Unfortunately SP is not that woman and never will be.

Although I refused to vote for Obama due to my extreme distrust of him,this blog is one of the best I have seen.It is a riot watching the right wing Palin people talk smack about a couple of sweet little old ladies who have a lot to say and say it well.Even though I disagree with them politically,I know a good blog and and an informed writer when I see one!

Keep it up ladies,you’re doing a great a job at irritating the hell out of these people!

Even though its extremely easy for us democrats to bash the republicans due to the last 8 years. Palin made a mockery of our political system by simply running…. no matter what party she is a part of. She proved her incompetence time and time again and now we just want her to disappear!!!

I really hate to see what things are like in Alaska if she’s the best candidate for governor!

You are a goddess. Really. I mean it. I remember the very day that the idiot Bush started the war and people were saying that we had to either go along with it or shut up. I really wanted to have somewhere to scream something about freedom of speech and democracy and that’s why we’re supposedly there killing children and civilians and now we’re not allowed to have that freedom here but there was no where to scream. And now I find you and you are doing the screaming and cussing for me and I love you for it. Just love you. Really.

Since I was attacked by The Watcher yesterday, like it mattered to me, I had two slices of pie. I made a mixed berry for the first time, filling runny, but tastes good, and my famous pecan. Grandma’s crust is a treat, I’m glad that I have mastered it.

My observation about The Sarah is that she is like a piece of Ikea furniture. Looks good, but the veneer is cheap, thin and brittle. Once that veneer is broken it reveals the junk that is inside and falls apart when exposed.

Thanks again ladies for another great post. Imagine the people who honestly think Palin will be elected in 2012! She may be hero to the folks down in the racist belt but the rest of us see her for what she is. A babbling fool who hides behidnd her so called relgious beliefs as she spews hate and division.

Every VP Candidate that has lost in my lifetime has vanished into thin air until the next election at least…. Nobody heard about Edwards after Kerry lost the election in 04. Nobody heard about Lieberman after Gore lost in 00 until he endorsed Mccain in 08. Nobody heard about Kemp after the election when Dole lost in 96 (for the record I had to look that one up because I was only 13 at the time)… The rest I am too young to remember or wasn’t alive.

Sarah Palin has done the exact opposite!!!!!!!

She has done more and more interviews and more public appearances since the election has been long over!!! Now shes campaigning for Chambliss and all I see on the news and web is how Sarah Palin is in Podunk town Georgia campaigning for Chambliss… I will give the Iowa news stations credit though… They at least limit the news about Palin’s whereabouts to a 1 minute story and a head shot of Palin talking instead of allowing the Iowa residents to absorb her BS…

Madame Helene, You are so right. Sarah Palin is a bitch, and Bill Kristol is an ass. The Republicans are total losers. We Obama supporters CELEBRATE! (See, we’re happy, even though you right-wing nutbags think we aren’t.) I can’t tell you the number of parties I’ve been to since Election Day. America is HAPPY. And all you Republican trolls who can’t spell and who think you have to insult Margaret and Helen can just STUFF IT. We are thrilled that you’re in agony, because we spent the last eight years feeling the same way. Eat you-know-what and die, suckers.

Helen, lately, I’ve just gotten way the hell too interested in McCarthyism. If I had to compare-and-contrast something for a college paper today, I believe I’d choose old-time McCarthyism vs. the political party of today’s Palin/Limbaugh/Coulter/Hannity/etc.

I have read the article with interest and feel like some of my mental fog is beginning to lift. Gabler details the track of Joe McCarthy’s evil and how it morphed, over time, along an interesting continuum.

“In this tale, the real father of modern Republicanism is Sen. Joe McCarthy, and the line doesn’t run from Goldwater to Reagan to George W. Bush; it runs from McCarthy to Nixon to Bush and possibly now to Sarah Palin. It centralizes what one might call the McCarthy gene, something deep in the DNA of the Republican Party that determines how Republicans run for office, and because it is genetic, it isn’t likely to be expunged any time soon.”

The article reminds me that McCarthyism “is usually considered a virulent form of Red-baiting and character assassination. But it is much more than that. As historian Richard Hofstadter described it in his famous essay, ‘The Paranoid Style in American Politics,’ McCarthyism is a way to build support by playing on the anxieties of Americans, actively convincing them of danger and conspiracy even where these don’t exist.”

Whereas we generally regard Barry Goldwater as the first modern conservative, Gabler says that “McCarthy’s real heir was Nixon, who mainstreamed McCarthyism in 1968 by substituting liberals, youth and minorities for communists and intellectuals, and fueling resentments as McCarthy had….Nixon simply mastered what McCarthy had authored. You demonize the opposition and polarize the electorate to win.”

YOU DEMONIZE THE OPPOSITION AND POLARIZE THE ELECTORATE TO WIN. That’s the essence of McCarthyism. Doesn’t that explain the current state of American politics in a nutshell? The Karl Rove crowd just fine-tuned the dual evils of McCarthyism and Nixon in order for their buddies to win elections through character assassination, bullying, lies, hate, etc., “to build support by playing on the anxieties of Americans…”

I’d love to see a comprehensive list of all the Rovian thugs. Like you, Helen, I’m also a Texan, and I know former Congressman Tom DeLay of Texas would be on that list, somewhere near the top.

Gabler’s commentary ends with these disturbing conclusions: “And that is…why the Republican Party, despite the recent failure of McCarthyism, is likely to keep moving rightward, appeasing its more extreme elements and stoking their grievances for some time to come. There may be assorted intellectuals and ideologues in the party, maybe even a few centrists, but there is no longer an intellectual or even ideological wing. The party belongs to McCarthy and his heirs — Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly and Palin. It’s in the genes.”

Once upon a time in this country, some things here were pretty certain and just about written in stone. Patriotism was fairly clear-cut, the American flag was a respected symbol of our great nation, and McCarthyism was TRULY ABOMINABLY EVIL. It is so clear to me now that McCarthyism has been reinvented in its “new and improved” versions by today’s politicians, commentators, Faux News, etc. by demonizing the opposition and polarizing the electorate. The “do anything/say anything/hurt anyone to win” mentality is deeply disturbing to me, and it shows how far we have fallen as a nation.

On the OTHER hand, the evil of the new McCarthyism is countered by every new message we read here from you, Helen, and for that I am truly grateful!

Tell it like it is, girlfriend. We’re still blown away down here in North Kakalacky. If you look at a color-coded map, there are these little blue islands surrounded by a sea of red. Luckily, the blue islands are cities.

“Interesting view on Sarah Palin. I enjoy seeing others views on it. However, I do happen to like her. I think that she is a fresh face in the world of corrupted and old politicians. Yes, they have experience, but do they have the will to let go of themselves and like you said about young people look to the future? I don’t know, maybe some of them can. However to completely down Mrs. Palin is to me a little bit closed minded. You do not know her personally, and you have heard only what the liberal media say about her. I would encourage you to go and find something positive about her. It would make your argument that she is a dim person so much better. ”

I don’t know how anyone here got their opinions of her, myself, I called my sister in Juneau and asked her what she thought, at first she was pretty evasive and then she stated some of the things which later I did hear in the ‘liberal media’ such as the per diem with her house because she doesn’t like staying in Juneau, her sending family members to state functions and billing the state…she stated that about 1/2 the people in Juneau liked her because she was ‘new’ and the other half thought she was an idiot.

I have nothing against ‘new’ politicians per se but I started to question the capabilities of this one and doing Google searches, reading op ed pieces from Alaska, reports in different papers, hearing her speak both when she was on and off script I realized this one was not very capable.
She appears to use her positions in government to further her own personal, family agenda…and her own gain. I recognize that this isn’t different than a lot of other politicians but definitely not someone I would want to send to Washington personally.

Dear Helen,
I only wish I could write as humorously and succinctly as you do. I grew up in Tennessee in as prejudiced a white family as could be. Thankfully, as an adult I opened my heart and my brain to embrace a lot of ideas and people that I never knew before. It is amazing to me that so many young people still have those same narrow ideas and beliefs today. I would love to be able to express myself as well as you do, because I have received so many ignorant emails and heard so many ridiculous comments surrounding this recent election. I can only keep quiet and walk away because for the most part, I don’t believe that I could convince these folks just how stupid they are. However, ever since November 4th, I have had a smile on my face, because I am proud that the majority of American people have risen above “my raising” and elected a president who can possible bring us all together. Keep it up, for all of us who love you and quote your words to anyone who will listen.
Your admiring friend,
Linda

Interesting view on Sarah Palin. I enjoy seeing others views on it. However, I do happen to like her. I think that she is a fresh face in the world of corrupted and old politicians. Yes, they have experience, but do they have the will to let go of themselves and like you said about young people look to the future? I don’t know, maybe some of them can. However to completely down Mrs. Palin is to me a little bit closed minded. You do not know her personally, and you have heard only what the liberal media say about her. I would encourage you to go and find something positive about her. It would make your argument that she is a dim person so much better.

Margaret, I also just found your blog, and I have to tell you that if my Mom was still alive, she’s agree with you all the way. She was a sailor (OK, a WAVE) in WWII, and is probably in even higher heaven with Obama’s election. She couldn’t abide fools or women who worked hard at being stupid. (She’d have been 88 this year.) I feel like I’ve found her voice on the intertubes.

Thank you, ladies. I love to read this blog. You never fail to make me laugh out loud.

I, too, would love to see Sarah Palin return home and raise her kids.

What do you think about a National literacy test? Anyone who can pass it would be allowed complete freedom of speech, and the ones who fail the test have to go back to school until they can pass Critical Thinking 101 and a fairly simple grammar and spelling test. (Think at least sixth grade level, maybe eighth.) As soon as a person demonstrates they can put a sentence together, use examples of FACTS to back up their statements, and tell the difference between facts and opinions, they may join the rest of us in polite conversation. That way, the folks who didn’t get anything out of school the first time will have a second chance to learn to read and actually come to enjoy it. Shall we run it up the flagpole and see who salutes?

I just found your blog via my husband’s blog and I am SO glad I found you! You are amazing, articulate, and full of sass. I hope my writing grows into something half as good as yours. And I plan to be out here, blogging away at it as long as I can. You are an inspiration!

Physicsmom – you’re absolutely correct – Helen does indeed remind us of Molly Ivins & Ann Richards – cut through the BS, call a Shrub a Shrub, and remind sonny to take his silver foot outta his mouth before speaking! I think Molly and Ann are cheering on Margaret & Helen.

That guy was out of line. Now I respect those who have strong beliefs based on facts and heart. BUT there is a line that should NEVER be crossed. One being questioning if one has a soul.
I have been hearing things about the election even though it is OVER. Today one of my friends was talking about how a man was saying how Obama was a pimp, and America was the prostitute. Then she added AND HE’S BLACK. I looked at her and said what does his race have to do with that. I’m sorry I got off topic. If what that reviewer said is true then I’m a monkeys flipping Uncle. Sarah Palin may be classy to some but let’s take a look at an example where she is ‘CLASSY’! At one of her campains did she stop the voters when they started yelling TERRORIST or KILL HIM. No there are much more ‘CLASSY’ things that she has done. Dear woman I’m sorry for this human’s behavior because you of a;; people shouldn’t deserve it at all.

Another great post, Helen. I’m 58 and have been wallowing in some regrets lately; your comments have woken me up. I need to move on, can’t change the past anyway, and step into the future.
Separately, it just occurred to me why I love your site so much – it reminds me of the late Molly Ivins, another Texan, how I miss her. I’ll treasure you’re writing in the Ivins tradition.
Thanks for the pie.

I no longer believe you are an 82 year old woman. Now I realize that you are an angel sent from heaven. You are ageless. If I could, I would start a church to honor you: THe Holy Helen Church of the No More Bullshit (HHC-NMB).

I have been so concerned that the people from the Hair generation have sold out entirely to the BMW and Mercedes companies, and their 401Ks. Thank God there is someone, an adult, who can still think and write with the amazing clarity shown here! Right on! As a few others here have said, You are great! The wonderful thing seems to be, 72% of us think she is indeed an idiot!

You are the best! I’m so happy to know that there are older Americans out there who still have both wit and wisdom and are willing to share it. I like to day dream about getting together with you, Jack Daniel’s punch and working on a new anti-Sarah Palin quilt square.

Helen, I was a little worried that those idiotic RWers would get to you. I shouldn’t have underestimated you. Great post today!

I really think that everyone that doesn’t remember the McCarthy era should do a little research on it. It was a very dark time here in America and it worries me to see someone like Palin, the ideological sister to McCarthy, getting so much support. Remember you have incredible amounts of info right at your fingertips. We must never allow that to happen again.

I for one, love everything you have written. If people think that what you have said is hateful, it can’t come close to the nasty statements some of those conservatives have been making. Pretty amazing how they don’t take responsibility for some of the horrendous things they have done and said.
Lori Skoog

Don’t let the Palin pod-people get you down Helen. If they really thought you were just some senile person ranting hate-speech they wouldn’t have bothered to respond to you. They’re all worked up because they know you are making valid points about their beloved political idol. Keep up the good work!

Just you keep on keepin’ on! Most of us out here love it. And “Palin” is a dirty word around here.

Even though the election is over, I still love to hear the song a fellow blogger wrote and sang on YouTube – “Don’t Speak For Me, Sarah Palin” If you’ve never heard it, hunt it up on YouTube. You’d love it too.

Helen,
Thanks for your thoughts and inspiration on regrets. I have too many and need to put them away – they are useless and draining. I will work on that!

For Angie, Alaska is a wonderful place to live. Please do not judge it by palin. She is not representative of the Alaskan woman – at least not in my book. I spent 11 years in Anchorage and they were the most formative years of my adult life – it is a time that defines me where ever I live. It is a crazy place and it pulls at your heart strings. I hope my daughter does go there for part of her life. It is a unique and compelling experience. Alaska is a place of extremes in weather, people and opinion.

I do understand that AK is super far away from Florida and THAT is an issue! That is it for now! Off my AK soap box!

Helen, This is a wonderful post, today. I am so impressed by your ability to dissect and explain your understanding of the comments.It rings true for me & I wonder why I do not use the good brain that I have in just such a manner. I am inspired by your objectivity{that is not lacking in strong emotion}. Also, I am so pleased at the way others have stood up bravely for their beliefs and despite the need to be agressive can still see it all in a context of fun and playfulness.Some great folks are hanging around here and I like it.

Helen…you and Margaret could be raking in the dough in ad money given the amount of comments you get on every post. This is a very successful blog. I think anybody who thinks it is a put-on is mistaken. If you’re not interested in the money yourself, it could all go to charity. Just something that occurred to me.

Thanksgiving 2001, I was bloviating about Bush sending B-52s to seal bin Laden into some cave.
My conservative evangelical in-law had no response.

Thanksgiving 2008, I was bloviating about “Bush still hasn’t sealed bin Laden into some cave with B-52s”. My conservative evangelical in-law, having since been converted to wingnuttery, responded by deriding the MSM, loonie liberals (including a decent Methodist preacher we both know), Pelosi, Obama, Rosie O’Donnell, and others as the real cause for Bush’s failures.

Marie Curie: The first professional female radioactive element scientist, was the best in the biz of radioactive elemental science at the time.

G.W.Carver: The first professional African American agricultural researcher, was the best in the biz of agricultural research at the time.

J.Robinson: The first African American major league baseball player was the best in the biz at playing pro ball at the time.

These guys were incredibly good at what they did. So good, that the world took notice, and their genius paved the way for the less gifted members of their gender and color to follow and be accepted by the white elite as professional equals. Hillary Clinton has the right stuff. She knows this, and like the Democratic establishment, knows that she is “money in the bank”.

Had Obama lost, he might have been sent out to pasture like John Kerry. But he won, and Hillary knows that all she has to do is hang tight and perform. Even in 2016 she’ll still be much younger than the aged McCain. That’s the second reason why she supported Obama. The first, is that his ideas are much closer to hers, and those of the Democratic party, than McCains.

What does this have to do with Sarah Palin?

Had by some chance the much less gifted and experienced Palin been tasked with the presidency during very difficult times and not performed significantly better than Bush, women would have been set back decades in the world of political power in America.

Most Republicans I know are people of good will who look at the world differently than I do.

I had a discussion this summer with a man I respect who is a well educated, thoughtful, religious man. I made the comment that someone said to my cousin about me that he couldn’t understand how a such nice woman from such a nice family could be a Democrat. He said “I wonder the same thing.” I responded that Christ said that “from those to whom much has been given, much will be required,” and that “as you do unto the least of these my brethren, you do to me.”

He said that Republicans believe that too, but that economically, they believe that a rising tide lifts all boats.

I don’t know about lifting all boats, after the last few months, but it doesn’t seem to me that Republicans behave as though looking after the least of us is a priority.

Most of my family is Republican, and even though there were 19 of us at Thanksgiving, there was little if any political talk. Thankfully.

And I wish the media would quit feeding Palin’s ego and political ambitions. But if she leads the 2012 ticket, well, we’re sure to have 8 years of Obama.

Reading through comments from some of the Republican readers here I keep seeing “smaller government” in their comments. I have to say: what are you smoking?

The republican party wants to tell me what I can and can’t do. The Republican’s are so much in favor of a big, intrusive government controlling my every move (if it is deemed outside of their lines) that I have no place for them.

What I think you mean is: no government backed programs for the poor coming out of “my” pocket. To which I say: the stronger the poorest person in America is, the heavier your own wallets will be. Universal Healthcare? Yup, I’m in favor of it. Censoring free speach: I, as a liberal, amd not in favor of it. How about prayer in school? Seems nice on the outside, but really it would just lead to a class system all over again.

The “big government vs. little government” line is the worst argument in histroy as a platform for becoming a Republican. If anything, all the Republicans I know want to tell me what I can and can’t do, and they want the Govt. to back them up. That is BIG GOVERNMENT to me.

However, if you want to recruit Republicans, why not just tell it like it is: if you want a deluted, white, affluent, Christian based government that will only help you if you already know the secret hand shake – then you should vote for us! I live in Texas, I know plenty of people who actually DO think this way, it is not that hard to get them to agree with you if you narrow your focus to pandering to their fears of debatchury (I’m fairly certain I spelled that wrong).

Conversely, all my liberal friends just want me to be happy. Even if I disagree with them, so long as I have a reasonable thought in my head, I can do whatever I want with my life – no strings attached. They are also, generally, happier people.

By the way, Helen, I am also a quilter. Have done a lot of traditional quilts, cherish some handmade ones from each of my grandmothers, now make mostly wall quilts that are either recognizable landscapes or wildly abstract. If I made a quilt to commemorate the recent election, it would definitely be a crazy quilt with lots of wild embellishment.

If people don’t want to read your opinions on SP, then they can just *not* visit this page. I somehow find myself on blogs or “news” pages that are offensive or just plain stupid. Know what I do? Leave quickly. I don’t turn into a troll, either.

In my 30 plus years on this earth, I have found that the more conservative types only like the idea of free speech if you agree with them. If you don’t, well, then you shouldn’t be allowed to talk. (So they believe)

I hope you DON’T stop bitching about her. If we all just assume she’s done with trying to influence our country and do not continue to push back, we might be surprised later when, say, she’s running for President. People will have forgotten just how rotten she is.

This is my first response in a while. Have continued to follow this blog daily, usually reading all the comments and going to other recommended sites- those recommended by both sides. First, I want to urge everyone to find the comment from “symphix”, a Malaysian who is coming to the US to study, who posted @ 9:48 PM on 11/29. Love the message that we so rarely sit down and really talk/listen to each other. So sad that as a nation so many remain polarized.
Now, to the whole “sit down and shut up”, I have to say I still love you Helen and will continue to folow your blog and tell others about it. But, this reminds me too much of the reaction to one of the Dixie Chicks who had the nerve to say, in a concert in England on the eve of the Iraq war, “I just want ya’ll to know we’re ashamed Bush is from Texas” (as are the Chicks). There was a huge outcry from country music stations and fans; they received hate mail that ranged from “just shut up and sing” to death threats; their CD’s were destroyed in public events that reminded me of book burnings in Nazi Germany; their next CD tanked in comparison to previous success and many of their concert dates were cancelled. My response to this included buying several copies of their new CD and, for a while, playing my own copy (the others were given away) as loud as possible whenever I was driving through any small town. Then I started behaving in a more mature fashion and enjoyed the music in private, savoring some really well-crafted songs- including one about a beloved grandmother who now has Alzhimers (“Silent House”) and another (“Voice Inside my Head”) that appears to be a sad looking back at an abortion (“I was only a kid when I said goodby to you……..lost scared and alone…..and I want and I need somehow to believe in the choice that I made…………….” How said that the reactions of the country music establishment and so many former fans kept these two gems from being heard by people who may have been deeply touched or challenged.
And how sad that our continued polarization keeps so many of us from being able to really sit down and hear each other and learn from each other and bless each other. I am an evangelical Christian who voted for Obama, after much study, dialogue and prayer. Probably the only one in my small church to have voted that way. The next Sunday, I was happy (but not surprised) to hear from the pulpit and from close friends there that God has allowed this election result, and our job now is to pray for and support this administration. I do know of a few preachers in this area (in the Shenandoah Valley, which voted over-whelmingly Republican as usual- except for the nearby city of Harrisonburg, where James Madison University is located) who are saying that Obama is Muslim, the anti-Christ, and similar things; but most churches around here are responding as did my own. Two of my grown children- also evangelical Christians- voted Republican; the third child- a kind, responsiple and highly ethical non-Christian, voted Democrat. We have had much passionate, but mostly respectful, dialogue- in person, and by phone and e-mail, with good results. We haven’t exactly brought each other around to our own way of thinking/seeing, but we agree that freedom of speech is a beautiful thing- and especially beautiful when it can begin at home. And in the neighborhood next.
Helen, I love Southern women who are sassy and strong, even if they occasionally display “potty-mouth”; I especially love them when they make plenty of room at the table for those who happen to hear and see things differently- if they can come in and be respectful to you in your kitchen/blog. So, don’t tune in to hear those you don’t want to hear; stop giving free rent in your brain to those you don’t want to invite in. And if any rabid ragers are still listening, being a daughter of the south I have no trouble believing that Helen is exactly who she says she is.

I voted for Obama, but I have to admit being really unhappy with most of his cabinet choices so far. Where’s the change he promised? But, even so – he’ll do a much better job than Bush did or McCain and Braindead Palin would.

During the campaign I was listening to SP’s definition of “America” and I thought, “If you are the type of person that

A: makes a ton of money and don’t want to share it;
B: Believes that affluent, Christian, white people the only real “American’s” that matter;
OR
C: Poor people get what they deserve – let the strong servive and don’t give hand-outs to the weak!

Then SP is your kind of girl.

I don’t believe in any of that. Funny I say this because I am white, affluent, and Christian; but I also see the beautiful colors of the country, the positives that come from diversity of cultures and religions, and the strength in helping those who need it most so the rest of us can show the way to a bright future.

I just don’t understand how an educated (a.k.a.: Big College Graduate) person can believe that a plain, white America is a good thing, and that is what the Republican party is all about.

For those out there who still think this way, I want to point out that through history some of the most beautiful, talented, and intelligent people our country has ever known were of mixed decent.

Ladies: like you, I don’t understand how the other side thinks (do they actually think for themselves?) but I do understand that we need the balance of all views to really make this country run well – even a little conservatism from time to time is a good thing.

Oh! One more thing: the ONLY thing I would vote in favor of Sarah for is if there was a contest: Candidates in the last 100 years you would most like to see naked – yes, Sarah would indeed get my vote for that one.

Helen, you go girl! Just keep telling it like it is. If I hear Palin use “progress” one more time, I might have to scream out loud. For example, “we have to progress our nation”. Good grief. I can’t take it any more.

JuneauJoe, what a GREAT idea – a Margaret & Helen Pie Fest at the Great American Party for Obama and Freedom! I’ll bring Decadent Truffle Pie (four kinds of chocolate) plus some sweet potato pie. . .
To Helen, thank you thank you for dissecting the comments. Loved it.

And again, sorry about the mess, but we really did our best to clean up before you returned home. We love you both!

Wonderful writing, Helen! I’m with the 72% that find Palin not only irritating, but dangerous because of the pitchfork shaking village idiots that she riles up! Outside of the great blogs you’ve posted, the excerpt below by Christopher Hitchens posted on “Slate” back in October really sums up what happened this election cycle:

“This is what the Republican Party has done to us this year: It has placed within reach of the Oval Office a woman who is a religious fanatic and a proud, boastful ignoramus. Those who despise science and learning are not anti-elitist. They are morally and intellectually slothful people who are secretly envious of the educated and the cultured. And those who prate of spiritual warfare and demons are not just “people of faith” but theocratic bullies. On Nov. 4, anyone who cares for the Constitution has a clear duty to repudiate this wickedness and stupidity”

Helen, I read ALL the comments last night – whew…a killer. I wondered how you would react, and I am pleased you have handled the abuse quite well. Your response today is very succinct. I too share a sailor’s mouth, but make my point known (comes with age). I might not be here tomorrow and would hate to have left something unsaid. Keep up the good work – I appreciate your insight.

As usual I enjoyed your blog, its my hope that you will never sit down and shut up. Fine, you may need to sit down occassionally but please keep speaking up.

I will say that I was stopped by Marc’s comment that “Republican’s Never let the facts get in their way…” At heart I consider myself a Republican. Not this new age crazy right wing Republican, but the one that believe less Gov’t is more, and wholeheartedly believes that the Gov’t should be out of my bedroom and day to day life.

I may not always agree with what others say but I like to believe that I am open minded enough to listen and and maybe learn a thing or two. Which includes not being a member of the 28% you refer to. I may not think Sarah Palin is an idiot, but I certainly don’t want her pretending to represent me in any way shape or form.

That was a ling winded way of saying I really enjoy your thoughts and opinions.

Thanks Helen You start my day off right !
I’m coming back… have no fear of that, because you remind me of my Mama – feisty and honest as the day is long.
Hey, I’ll bring the pecan pie if you’ll put the coffee pot on. :o)

This is the second visit to your blog, and I have already e mailed it to all of my Republican family members still in the states.
The first time I was able to vote was when Goldwater and Johnson were the candidates. I went door to door for Goldwater. This was in Topeka Kansas. My family had always been moderate Republicans and had supported Rockefeller in the primaries.
I do not even talk politics with my family in the states anymore since they all are Faux News watchers. For Christmas last year I sent them the DVD Outfoxed. Several of them sent them back to France with the DVDs broken in the boxes. Haven’t heard from any of them since.

I have recommended your blog to so many of my liberal friends — oops, I think the word we are using these days is progressive since Bush dirtied up he other.

I was in the library the other day listening to some of the Texan Republicans that have moved to my little New Mexico community. They were so afraid of what Obama was going to do — ruin this country. A few years ago I would have been scared of being sent to Gitmo as a terrorist but not now. So I turned around and told them it could not be a 10th as bad as what George W had done.

But you are right it is amazing they can read. So what were they doing at the library? Trying to find an Atlas that listed Africa as a country? It is wise to remember that just because they vote does not mean they know how to tie their shoelaces.

Still I find myself continually amazed at that 28%. Maybe Thomas Jefferson was right and we need a representational republic where only those with land or who can pass a simple literacy test are allowed to vote. Just include women and minorities into it and it might be perfect.

I was only pointed in the direction of you blog just recently, and I love it!
But *please* don’t call her Sarah PLAIN – that’s the name of my favourite storybook character, Mary Plain, the bear cub from Berne, and I’m going to find it hard to get that out of my mind now……
Especially as I know SP would shoot her soon as look at her.

“…What I don’t understand when I read this blog is why are you all still talking about Palin? The race is over and Obama won. Rejoice and celebrate instead of rant and rave. And not everyone who votes Republican is an idiot. That’s as bad of a stereotype as saying Liberals are unpatriotic.

Obama can never deliver the unity he campaigned on if his supporters continue in this constant bashing….”

——–

Are you being serious? You actually don’t understand why anyone would continue to speak out against a woman who incited violence against Obama? Who lies ever time she opens her mouth? Who clearly has designs on the presidency, and who has repeatedly abused the power of her governor’s office?

And if “unity” can only come from ignoring a threat to our next president and our country, turning a blind eye to corruption, then I guess we’ll just have to not have that type of “unity.”

How about this type of “unity” instead? Those who were fooled by Palin, now having seen what kind of person she is, can unite with the rest of us in both fixing the problems 8 years of Republican corruption and croneyism has done to our policy, AND unite to ensure that we don’t allow another slick-talking Bushesque huckster get an opportunity to try to destroy our country again?

I mean, I want a unified relationship with Iraq because we need a foot-hold in the Middle East, but not if it means we have to allow another Sadam Hussein run the country.

“About Obama’s citizenship, even the children of illegal aliens who are born on U.S. soil (or in a hospital built on U.S. soil, etc.) are citizens. Where their parents hold citizenship is irrelevant and whether those countries grant the kid citizenship is irrelevant….”

———-

The issue with a presidential candidate is this: they must be a natural-born citizen, which means being born on U.S. soil or soil that the U.S. was in control of (i.e., leasing) at the time of the person’s birth.

Obama was born in Hawaii, which was a state at the time he was born. I know there have been nutballs claiming he wasn’t, but the person in charge of records in Hawaii, about a week or 10 days before the Nov. election, actually did a special certification of his birth-certificate, above and beyond what is normally done. Why dd she do this? Because she was getting so many emails from nutballs–and calls to her hme in the middle of the night–that she could not get her work done.

Now, when it comes to McCain, however, I don’t think he is a natural-born citizen. The Panama Hospital he was born in is miles away from what the military base was at that time. It was not under control of the U.S. at the time of McCain’s birth.

I’ve been to Colon, Panama–twice–and spent considerable time trying to find provisions and boat engine parts there. I can tell you that the hospital is no where near the military base.

I love this blog. I totally agree with you Margaret on this one. Don’t take any crap from anyone out there. If they don’t like it then leave it.
Here in Georgia we have a chance tomorrow to get another low – life out of the senate. Please cross your fingers for us and hopefully we will be able to kick his ass out of D.C. My ultimate dream is to turn Georgia a beautiful midnight Blue in 2012.

Love you, and I’ll take another piece of pecan pie with some real vanilla ice cream

Kathryn, I am pro choice and have not picked up a bible in 10 years. I am an Independent moderate who is sick of political extremism from both parties.

McCain is far from an empty suit. The McCain I knew and respected could work with both the Democrats and Republicans and actually get things done instead of bickering and fighting. He did indeed lose that during the election because he had to cater to the Conservative Right which ticks me off.

I have been very happy with Obama the past 10 days and am happy he is moving toward the center. I loved Bill Clinton as President and am hoping Obama will move to the center the way he did.

If you all want to talk about Palin go ahead and do so. I just think it is rather pointless and tiresome. Whatever floats your boat as they say

Yay! A new post and the roaches seem to have dropped their “project” of fouling this site and scuttled off to a different refrigerator…(fingers crossed). I gave up trying to read all of the comments on that thread because it seemed like the entire 28% had decided to “flash” you with their intellectual “shortcomings”.

Kim and Sophronia, the reason she is being discussed is that she won’t go back to Alaska and get back to work. Instead she is still doing all she can to keep her face on TV. Someone should tell her she lost, time to go home.
You are mistaken to think we aren’t all ecstatic that Obama won, we certainly are. We are also quite relieved that Palin didn’t get any where near the White House. We are OFFENDED by her divisive, nasty attacks on Americans. Why you support such a narrow minded, divisive dimwit is beyond me. It isn’t her brains so you must support her because of her religious beliefs.
Give it up, Roe vWade has been law since 1973, it is NEVER going to be overturned. Move on.
Find a real candidate.
She didn’t even know what the VP did for heaven’s sake! Republicans hitch their wagon to her star and it will end Republicans forever, so go right ahead and ignore her ignorance, that only helps Democrats.
We will move on when she finally shuts up.
America has a liberal bias, like reality does. Try it sometime.

“I had the sense that McCain in his desire to win allowed the wrong people to handle him and his campaign.”

Exactly. McCain is an empty suit who is “handled” by they christian right, et al. There is no there there. I’m grateful he lost as he did. His concession speech was just another “show” for the gullible. The real McCain showed up at his Klan Rallies.

I do not envy Obama, but I do support him. He has an uphill battle to try to help get us out of this horrible slup the country is in. Four years is a short time to be able to do this but I hope he can make a dent and all those who are warning us of the impending doom can finally relax.

It’s funny that you should categorize your blog as opinion. I feel a little silly now that I’ve bookmarked your blog along with the New York Times, the Wallstreet Journal, and my two local Toronto newspapers 🙂

About the Republicans – I’m Canadian so our elections are not simply right and left wing. We have an array of parties which makes things more difficult but I think this allows us to ignore the black and whiteness of politics. I think it’s not that black and white. I’m sure Obama has some rightness and leftness in him. I think this concept of Republican and Democrat is dividing people, and creating more hate between the two. It’s just my 21-year old observation, I could be wrong 🙂
But I have to say, and I hate to categorize them, but McCain and Palin devotees remind me of myself when I was 16 and didn’t know fact from opinion. So I would take opinion and use it as facts in arguments…of course, I’m a little more aware of what is opinion and what is fact now – but then again, I have your blog bookmarked with news *blush*

Just to echo your thoughts — both of my parents are Republican (I’m not), and they’re pretty good people. So I certainly don’t paint Republicans with a broad brush.

My father, who is probably the smartest guy I know (even at 80 years old), voted for Obama this time. The only other times he didn’t vote for a Republican president was when Nixon was on the ticket and when G.W. Bush was running.

My mother (now in her mid-seventies) pretty much always votes the Republican ticket, but even this time she’d had enough and voted for Obama.

But of course, both of them are “old-time” Republicans — fiscally conservative, but not bible-thumpers.

Kudos to you ladies, love your blog. I’ve never commented before, but love reading your comments. Not all Republicans are bad, I am a registered Republican in a very red state. I couldn’t vote for McCain after his pick of Sarah Palin. I only heard her speak a couple of times before I knew that I didn’t want her anywhere near the White House. I very gladly voted for Obama, but then I have to admit, that I didn’t vote for Bush either time.

I don’t get these people who support and defend Sarah Palin. They’re just too nice is all. They don’t know a snake when they see one…a fake snake at that.

The men I talk to want to bed her and blab on about how attractive she is. Men think with their johnson, so who can blame ’em for being idiots, but really. Her in charge of something? People in Alaska are finding out to their dismay that they’re screwed….too bad she’ll be competing with “o” for the late afternoon crowd by the end of her term…still getting paid by Alaska no doubt…and then pardoning herself.

Thank you Helen, you make my day. You remind me of my nana, she would have agreed with every salty word. Had she not passed away this year she would have happily voted for Obama & heaped scorn on Palin. Keep fiesty.

Your no nonsense, down-to-earth, tell it like it is common sense delivered with wit and a direct style to me typifies the best of Texas.

It’s a state I want to hate but just can’t because of people like you. How is it Texas is a red state? I just don’t get it. At some point simple, basic thoughts and values will be the rule again there, won’t they?

“While I did vote for McCain, I am willing to give Obama a chance as President . I am hoping he can lead as well as he can speak. We need leadership right now and I hope he is the one who can do it.

What I don’t understand when I read this blog is why are you all still talking about Palin? The race is over and Obama won. Rejoice and celebrate instead of rant and rave. And not everyone who votes Republican is an idiot. That’s as bad of a stereotype as saying Liberals are unpatriotic.”

I was not a supporter of Obama early on, by the time of the Democratic Convention, I started listening to him speak and following the Presidential Race closely and I have to admit that his speaking skills and his performances during the debates were impressive compared to what I had seen the last eight years.

The Republican Convention and the activites of McCain’s camp during the campaign did not impress me at all…quite honestly, I lost a lot of respect for McCain during the campaign and I gained back a lot of respect for him when he made his concession speech, that and when he confronted the woman over the “Obama is an Arab” remark at one of his townhalls. I had the sense that McCain in his desire to win allowed the wrong people to handle him and his campaign.

I believe that Helen’s intital post that started this entire foodfight in her kitchen was when she asked why are we still hearing about Sarah Palin, why does the Republican Party still use her? I have to say that the more the Republican Party holds onto her, pushes her, plays up to their more extreme backers, they continue to marginalize the Moderates who have supported the Republicans since the Reagan era…I know people who believe in smaller government, balanced budget, etc…alll things they felt that the Republican’s stood for be set aside for at least the last eight years.

Clinton was a good Moderate “Republican”, he was pro-business, pushed trade, pushed balancing the budget, cut back on the federal government…Bush Sr. was, well, Bush Sr…I think that the Bush family primarily does what his family does which appears to be what is in their family’s interest first. Family first. Shrub pushed it even further with an appearance of nepotism and arrogance which was almost unprescedented…

Will Obama ‘accomplish’ much, that I do not know but he at least appears to have brought back a sense of leadership, which this country is hungry for…and I believe that he will be more moderate than a lot of people who supported him would desire. I think that the ‘radicals’ which seem toi frighten the far right will not be as clearly represented as the fear mongering would like us to believe but I do think that hopefully, he will represent a movement toward some aspects which we need to address in this country.

This country needs a strong foundation again and that foundation needs to be focused on the people who are Americans not just the corporations that make a profit here…

I haven’t had as much fun at a blog since Aravosis called for a list of Bush screwups and got over 1500 comments.

As an added bonus, I learned what PUMA was… an organization that appears to have as it’s ultimate goal, the cleaning up of a downtown bag lady and making her ‘dictator of the free world’, just to spite the ‘evil men’ who run the Democratic party.

And I also noticed that “grilling POTUS’s since Lincoln’ Helen Thomas is back in the front row at White House press conferences, after having been swapped out by Dubya for that gay prostitute.

All is right with the world once again. Well, except for all those Bush screwups.

Intelligence and wisdom yet prevails! I got choked up a bit when I read your “no regrets” paragraph. I’ve had a few of them but not lately.

I’m still in the throes of newlywed happiness over my spontaneous decision four months ago to marry a guy I went to high school with 21 years ago after only being together a couple months. Mostly it was online due to the distance between us, (and a five day visit to Chicago on my part) but I knew he was the one. Best damn decision I’ve ever made. No regret there.

Helen, keep writing. I have no grandparents and I have a lot to learn from you.

Palin lovers-I can point to one person who has created the huge fracture in this nation-the Aussie Rupert Murdoch. All of you who watch Fox news have been matrixed and you need to take the blue pill and wake up. Said Murdoch of the war, “The greatest thing to come out of this for the world economy, if you could put it that way, would be $20 a barrel for oil. That’s bigger than any tax cut in any country” (Guardian, February 11, 2003). Notice he didn’t say American economy. He through his news outlets continually campaigned for our invasion of Iraq and filed only stories which supported it. He also sees the rise of China and the decline of America. Not a man who I want to get behind Palin lovers. Take the blue pill-wake up or die in the Murdoch matrix of extremist and covert anti-American journalism. Agent Smith exists and his name is Murdoch. Palin is just a tiny foot soldier who the Republicans are already trying to replace with rising star Bobby Jindal.

I take a long weekend vacay from blog reading and come back to this… hysterical! Then I read the one that got 714 comments, of which presumably 28% were of the variety you describe in today’s most excellent offering. I will forgo reading the 714 comments due to time and blood pressure issues that may arise from approximately 200 of them, but I will comment on the post itself: it was decidedly my favorite of all times!!!! You nailed them, neighbors and idiot pundits alike, which naturaly, was bound to bring the wingnuttiacs out from under their rocks like the cockroaches they obviously are.

Crazy Sarah Wasillabilly does need to sit down and shut up because she really has nothing of value to say. We can only hope she energizes the Martin voters more than she does the Chambliss (ugh, shudder) morons.

You are the coolest. Who needs pie? I’ll just keep coming back for heaping helpings of your words and wisdom.

1) Helen, don’t worry about the “mess.” It’s part of what comes with a blog. It is actually a good part, IMO, because it unites the blog regulars and keeps their posting skills sharp. Also, blogs that only have complimetary posts (“You are fabulous,” “No YOU are fabulous”) get a little inbred–and boring–after awhile. You wouldn’t want to end up with a bunch of Prince Charles’ for posters, would you?

2) I just had a very scary thought: If Sarah Palin writes a book, she will undoubtedly insist on doing the voice for the audiobook version.

What made me think of this was the Stephanie Miller Show today, when they played a clip of Bill O’Reilly reading part of his porn-book.

The idea of Sarah Palin’s voice tormenting poor audiobook devotees for hours and hours is enough to keep one up at night.

Thanks again for the blog. Also, thanks for pointing out the more blatant hypocritical posts.

The amount of hypocrisy on the right is very, very sad. But then, if they spend time listening to Limbaugh, O’Reilly and the like, they may no longer be able to recognize hypocrisy even in other people.

I am a moderate who voted for McCain. I have always liked McCain because he is middle of the road which is what I am. I was willing to give Palin a chance when he first chose her as his running mate. The more I read up on her, the less impressed I becamse. I still voted for McCain, but didn’t do it w/ passion.

While I did vote for McCain, I am willing to give Obama a chance as President . I am hoping he can lead as well as he can speak. We need leadership right now and I hope he is the one who can do it.

What I don’t understand when I read this blog is why are you all still talking about Palin? The race is over and Obama won. Rejoice and celebrate instead of rant and rave. And not everyone who votes Republican is an idiot. That’s as bad of a stereotype as saying Liberals are unpatriotic.

Obama can never deliver the unity he campaigned on if his supporters continue in this constant bashing.

You’ve given the Sarahbot responding to your post far too much credit. He wrote, after all,
“…nothing even vaguely as crass and vile has ever come from her.” “This rabid propaganda is not the work of an admirable person, but of a bitter, angry, spite-filled narcissist.”

Sarah is notorious for an entire adulthood full of crassness and vileness. The country got a good dose of it with her William Ayers rantings and her gloating as people screamed “Kill him!” She has a long history of racist remarks.

Before her nomination she referred to Obama as “Sambo,” and Hillary as “the Bitch.” She called the Inupiat (northern Eskimos) “Arctic Arabs.” When she was hitting on a trombone player she didn’t realize was part Native American and part African-American, she referred to two of his friends who’d unnerved her by saying, “I don’t do black guys.”

It’s hard to outdo her for spite. Before she was selected by McCain, she giggled as Alaska state senate president, a fellow Wasilla resident, was mocked by a pair of shock jocks Sarah had joined on Anchorage radio. They even ridiculed the woman for having had cancer. “Troopergate” was a product of her unending spite, a four-year vendetta against her ex-brother-in-law in which she enlisted her state-paid appointees. Despite their attacks, he apparently refused to engage in destructive tactics so vile that a judge hearing the custody case characterized them as “child abuse” by the Palin/Heath family.

Indeed in her first real electoral contest, she vilified Wasilla mayor John Stein, an exemplary official who was running for his fourth term. Stein, like many others who had helped her career, found himself being slandered by this vile woman.

Sarah also refused to support her mother-in-law, perhaps the only really decent person on both sides of the family, when she ran as mayor to succeed Sarah.

Indeed, if any word might be used to accurately describe Sarah, it would be “narcissist.” Her prodigious sense of entitlement has allowed her to rationalize spending tens of thousands of state dollars shipping her kids around with her to be used as props in public appearances, charging the state per diem for a year in which she stayed at home, refusing to occupy the governor’s mansion in Juneau, and sending her husband on a junket to Canada.

Just got back from the doctor’s and I need some low cal pie. Anybody have any ideas?

I really really believe that we need to educate/keep up with what the GOP and Palin are doing, but from a distance, please!!! The Republicans are desperate and Palin is their only hope at this point
Blogs from Alaska are great, Mudflats was mentioned but here is another great onehttp://andrewhalcro.com/
He writes about what is going on in Alaska and what Palin is, isn’t and should be doing for Alaskans. Alaska may be headed for serious financial difficulties, if she does not get back to the work of the people.
She, apparently does not like to work often or hard.
Well, everybody, have a great day.
I hope we can keep our comments nicer then the trolls, I enjoy Helen and Margret’s posts and everybody’s(most) comments as well!

I’m surprised that, since you get so many comments (and diverse ones at that), you have time to read them all. You are one classy lady. Leave it to fools to suggest otherwise. When someone can’t spell, I automatically seem to dismiss them, even though I know I shouldn’t. I figure they didn’t digest much the first four to six years of grade school, so whatever else they know is ambiguous at best. You know you’ve hit the big time when you bring the roosters out to the hen house squawking about what is and isn’t “a lady.”
Brenda in Tyler

I just found your blog and truly enjoy it as “opinionated comments”. With that said, I find it truly hilarious (well disappointing also) that folks get their panties (or briefs) in a wad over your blog. If you do not like it, go listen to Rush!! Yes, I have listened to him a few times and it makes my blood boil so I turn it off and have not been back in like 10 years.
The affects of the Bush administration and the election have filtered into every fascist of our lives. Bifurcating politics, beliefs and morals to the point were our country is so divided and bitter we can not even play in the same sand box. Everyone, myself including, is so dead set on personal beliefs on all the “top topics” of politics and life that we have lost our “open-mindedness” that makes us Americans. I truly feel our county will accomplish NOTHING until we can all return to the same sand box, sharing toys (ideas) and constructively fighting over who gets to play with the shovel. Although there are a few fascist of Obama’s campaign I did not care for, in the end, I do feel he has the leadership, charisma and intelligence to bring us all back to the sandbox.
As to Palin, I do give her (a little) credit for rising to the challenge when offered to run for VP with McCain. She was asked, she accepted and she choose to push her beliefs……. They are just not my beliefs but she has that right. Well, I can say I like the names of her kids, but I think that is all we agree on. Moving forward, I wish her no ill-will but it is apparent the majority does not see life (politics) as she does and although she has the right to back fellow politicians, I think her popularity speaks for itself and she should sit down and shut up for a while.
Back to Obama – my kids love him and I asked by. Now, my kids are 4 and 6 so they “hear” stuff but only truly have an impression of what is going not, not the real meat.
4 year old said – “Co-rock-a-gama is the good guy!”
6 year old – “He will make the world a better place for me.”

Now, my husband and I are both Democrats with a little Republican tossed in once and a while and we do discuss politics some but when asked, both boys stated they heard that just about everywhere. That should tell you something……………………

You shed those trolls like water off a duck’s back–you are AWESOME. Awe-inspiring, like my favorite Aunt Mabel, who’s a teeny bit younger than you and every bit as direct and blunt (but maybe not quite so…crusty *grin*). I aspire to your level of engagement one day.

Gosh Darn it!, Helen, your constant talk of pie has done me in again. (Munch, Munch, Slurp). I would like to hear a sailor so eloquent (I’m Army and not so good with words either). Your words are gems. Thank you.

I’m 61 and this is the first political season I have been so involved (Not as much as some but a lot for me). I found myself giving money to Martin’s campaign along with lots of my fellow veterans. I truly admire Mr. Cleland for what he has accomplished since the war changed his life.

Palin and Company are so obviously empty-headed. It makes it fun to deal with “them” anymore.

troutay: That was just some mild mauling. I was getting ready to hit level 10 when I read some of the comments later in the day but hubby made me go out. By the time I got home I just did not have the energy to expend!

I let JuneauJoe and Politcal Amazon and a few others have at it! They have better responses than I do anyway! 🙂

You know, Sarah Palin’s fans can call me anti-American, or elitist, or whatever else makes them feel better. I’m too happy that Palin isn’t anywhere near the White House to take anything her supporters say very personally.

I sort of think of Sarah Palin as a right-wing version of Britney Spears: most people hope she stays famous because she makes them feel smarter and better educated. Personally, I hope she gets eaten by a polar bear.

If Sarah P is a “classy lady”, then I’d hate to see who he considers not classy. Note to the Watcher…classy ladies don’t hold interviews in front of turkeys being slaughtered, among other things. But alas, I don’t think ole Sarah will sit down and shut up as she is a true motormouth.

Hey, Helen! I live in a part of Texas that’s a Republican stronghold, even though we’re near the late Democratic President LBJ’s ranch–go figure. As I drive around town, I see that many people still have their McCain/Palin signs up. I just want to yell out my car window and say “Take the damn things down–you lost!” It was bad enough to look at them during the election, much less now that it’s over.

As for Palin–in my opinion, many of the men who say she’s so great are merely thinking with their “other” head…if you get my drift.

Helen, keep up the good work, or as my favorite Latin phrase goes: “ILLIGITIMI NON CARBORUNDUM”—don’t let the bastards get you down!

those who believe in sarah palin, i guess, don’t have much of an expectation. for goodness sakes she said she wasn’t quite sure what a vice-pres. was supposed to do. that comment right there would have stopped my heart had i been a voter. mccain, i hope, wasn’t high when he made his decision.
god bless america.

Great to see you back with some reasoned … and hilarious … comebacks because it looks as if a good percentage of the 28% actually stopped by for the previous post to vent their spleen, so to speak. Unless, of course, it was the same poster with multiple logins, but the same IP address … hmm.
I would actually like to visit Alaska some day, in spite of Sarah Palin, because it is a great big and wonderful state. My father was working there when Pearl Harbor happened; he said that the prevailing thought then was that Alaska would be Japan’s target. He returned to the Lower 48 to enlist in the USN and spent his WWII service in the South Pacific. My younger son, following in his grandfather’s footseps, also spent one season working in Alaska on a crab boat. Both raved about the natural beauty of the state, something that Silly Sarah is trying her best to ruin. If only for that, she is most certainly an ass. Unfortunately, there is so much more.
You have lots of kindred spirits among Alaskan residents, who are unfortunately, still saddled with her. If you have never read it, I highly recommend the blog Mudflats, whose feelings about Palin reflect your own and whose writing can on occasion be almost as hilarious. In fact, this particular item is well worth a read … and is funny as hell.http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/11/30/readers-who-purchased-sarah-palins-biography-might-also-likewhat/#comments

Not all Alaskans are like Palin, thank heavens!

Thanks so much for making my days much more joyous than they otherwise might be! Keep on writing, please!

We had Thanksgiving this year at a neighbor’s house. One of the couples had just moved back from Alaska. They said they had voted for Palin for Governor because (a) she was so much better than her EXTREMELY corrupt opponent, and (b) they had NO CLUE she was such a frickin’ radical moron. None of that information about “Alaska First” or her religious fanatisicm had been made public. Needless to say, they were tickled to be driving around Pennsylvania with Alaska license plates and an Obama sticker!

Love love love your blog, even if I do disagree with you about breastfeeding in public.

Yes, there were some nasty Trolls here the past few days, Helen (and all you warriors). I have a feeling they will be back. And when they are, I’m going to try to take it as a sign of what it is: desperation.

As for the person that wrote “Palin” and “intellect” in the same comment, you are hi-larious. And Palin is about as classy as a mini-gherkin on a toothpick. Not a bad analogy that. She kind of looks like one (big head on little body) and no, to all the trolls, I am not jealous of her and her five transcripts from five different undergrad institutions, or her looks, or her children named after sports, planes, and school subjects (feel sorry for those kiddies).

All we can do is keep trying to expose the trolls to REALITY and honesty and candor.

Natural selection and evolution are going to have to take care of the rest.

Hi, Helen. First-time commenter, long time reader. I find it interesting how so many previous comments cite American history in their “attacks” toward your blog posts. I would suggest to those comment authors – everyone across the globe, really – to read “Lies My Teacher Told Me”. The history of America taught in schools is vastly different than what actually transpired in our 316 years of occupying the North American continent.

For the record? Good ol’ Abe enjoyed the company of men, he was quite the fan of frottage.

I have to LOL at the comment “But no one told me that God registered as a Republican….maybe Governor Palin mentioned it and I missed it.” by SuburbanCorrespondent… SO freaking true and FUNNY!

You’re an amazing woman Helen. Keep it up and don’t let the idiots get you down! I feel no shame in calling them ‘idiots’ nor do I feel like it’s anything short of the truth, because unlike some people who really have no idea what they’re saying or doing, these people CHOSE to be idiots, and voted accordingly.. and hell, they’re even still trying to rationalize their idiocracy even after they’ve had their asses handed to them in the elections.

And I know as far as I’m concerned, I’ve never been so hopefully and SO happy with a president as I am Obama- and he’s not even in office yet! He’s stepped up and is taking action already- I think it’s just pissing the Republicans off even more because all we’re doing is proving them wrong- time and time again. 😉

Brilliant comeback!! That was a very disturbing day you had, but I can say that it didn’t wipe the smile off of my face and destroy the joy in my heart about having Obama as my president. These people’s beliefs are coming from a place of misinformation and they are spewing what they are told…also, no president has ever misused our constitution like Bush has!!

Helen, Again, you nailed it. How do you do it? As a writer I am inspired by your ability to take apart, piece by piece, the words of those on the “dark side” and shove them, like the delicious pie you offer, directly in their collective face. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being a cohesive voice for those of us who couldn’t be more excited by the recent political turn of events! As a suburban rock and roll diva, I hereby crown you an honorary rock chick!

Helen, you just get better every time. So glad to see that the mess made yesterday by the nasties was not too much to do ya in. Loved your words this morning.

Mageen at 10:30am:
I agreed with you about Palin…”I have never seen anyone who has refused to take responsibility for anything during the campaign, such as all the money spent on clothing for herself and her tribe.”

Then, I wondered what Palin would think hearing, “The buck stops here.” My bet is hat she would get really excited, grab her gun, call for a helicopter, and look expectantly for that damn buck to wander into range! Woo-hoo!

Moving on….It’s official…Hillary just announced as Secretary of State…

Helen,
Another great post from my favorite ranting granny.
Did you see that S. Palin is one of Barbara Walter’s 10 most fascinating people of 2008? Maybe, if fascinating means ridiculous and annoying. I can’t believe she’s still a topic of conversation. She should be the laughing stock of the republican party but the fools at FoxNews have made her into the spokesmodel for all that is right and good.

Keep it up Helen, and by the way I just finished the last piece of pumpkin pie, but I must say your blog is better.

Sophronia has a good point. I ran across this article and how people will make things better.

The Portland Tribune published a piece on their website a few days ago called What can you do for your country? And as soon as I read it I knew that I wanted to write about it. But there seems to be a subthread woven through it which seemed deserving of being dealt with on it’s own. So inbetween all of the cooking I’ve done over the last several days – which I love doing – I’ve been mulling it. And I’m going to stick with the main theme.

Steve Novick is even willing to give up eating meat if his new president were to ask. Mind you, Novick, the Portland attorney who ran an unsuccessful campaign against Jeff Merkley for the Democratic nomination for U.S. senator, is just making a point.

Sort of. The point is, he’s inspired by President-elect Barack Obama’s victory. He wants to help. And he’s willing to sacrifice.

“I don’t consume all that much meat,” Novick says. “Let’s say Barack Obama said, ‘We’re using up a lot of natural resources to feed cows, and I ask you, just as an experiment, to get along without eating beef for the next month.’ I’d be willing to do that.

“If he asked me, for six months, don’t eat farm-raised tuna, and instead eat sardines and anchovies when I feel like fish, I’d be willing to do that.”

In short, Novick, like a lot of others in a county that delivered Obama a 77 percent to 20 percent margin over Sen. John McCain, is waiting to hear what it is he can do. And Novick, like many others in Portland – young and old, black and white – is willing to do just about anything.

So the question is simple enough: What are you willing to do for your country?

I think that SP’s future with the GOP will depend on whether she swings voters in GA to Chambliss in the coming runoff election there. If she is perceived to have had an influence in a win by him, she could be regarded as a GOP superstar. If he loses, then perhaps she will fade.

Really, I am so over Palin, and honestly, I wish the rest of of could be the same. We need to harness the mental energy we dissipate on hating her for positive things instead. I am hopeful for our future for the first time in a long time, and I am far more interested in how our new President will act for our benefit, than in the life and times of Sarah Palin.

Good Morning Helen! Glad to see you did not let the 28 percent get you down.

Loved your blog this morning. So true in youth you tend to not look back (unless it is to blame your parents for your upbringing) you just look forward. Usually with your eyes on your feet and not the horizon and then bam you run into a sign pole or light pole and still it does not knock any sense in to you.

You handled the nay sayers well. I had to give up as my estrogen is dropping faster than the stock market these days and I really wanted to rip some faces off. I think I could take them but really with that comes such a loss of energy and I need to store it up for the truly stupid I run into in my life away from the computer!

I like that you are reading and thinking about the comments we write. I don’t often comment, but I like to think I am saying something worth at least consideration. Thank you.
wizzybus said she used to think it was important to listen to what people who disagreed with you said. I know it gets hard to listen to broken logic and wrong facts, but that is not all it is. There are feelings behind it as well. And people with opinions that – while not as GOOD (wink) as mine – are theirs and they have as much right to them as I do. And just as they have the right to blather on, Helen and others who feel tired as well have the right to say shut up. It doesn’t mean anybody will shut up or that she can or will try to enforce it. Helen and Margaret have chosen to communicate here and allow others to do the same.

I’ll have a piece of wisdom with my pie please. Of course the wisdom comes from you and Margaret’s experience. At 51, I admire and respect your opinons. It’s sad to see that there are ‘some people’ that don’t. **sigh**

Thank you Helen for speaking your mind out here for us to read. I live in the metroplex and sometimes feel like the only person in the world that disagrees with the inane republican/conservative drumbeat. You give me hope that not all of Texan are deluded.

My current theory is that Palin supporters are really just upset that Hee-Haw is no longer on the air and listening to her soothes their wanting.

A friend just turned me on to your blog and I LOVE it! Y’all write from the heart and shoot from the hip. Such honesty is refreshing.

My younger brother, an intelligent and accomplished man, is still a Repug and still thinks Palin was qualified to be Veep. His beliefs are so contrary to his character and the way we were raised that I just can’t talk to him right now. Surprisingly he gets annoyed with me when I ask him, “how can you be so blind?” You think you know someone…

That last guy you quoted? I think I may know his cousin. Here’s a snippet from her e-mail to me, speaking about Obama supporters:

“…they will be very disappointed when Obama does not deliver on many of the things he promised. Also, and I know this sounds uncharitable, they woke up this morning, looked in the mirror and faced the same miserable, depressed, angry, bitter loser they faced the day before. Nothing in their life has changed, no hope, no progress, just elation that they beat the religious right, they beat God.”

Hmmm…who sounds angry and bitter here? Certainly not me – I’ve been smiling since November 5th.

But no one told me that God registered as a Republican….maybe Governor Palin mentioned it and I missed it.

Thanks for a most enjoyable slice of pie this morning. It is terrific how you see through the comments and still manage to find some humor in them. You’ve been my inspiration to speak my mind more (I was raised that good girls don’t speak their minds). It is amazingly liberating to say what I really think! The no-regrets part of your post is what got me thinking today. Thanks for sharing your wisdom.

Oh, and let Palin go to Georgia. She can only continue putting her foot firmly in her mouth as that is what she does best.

About Obama’s citizenship, even the children of illegal aliens who are born on U.S. soil (or in a hospital built on U.S. soil, etc.) are citizens. Where their parents hold citizenship is irrelevant and whether those countries grant the kid citizenship is irrelevant.

Wow! You are my benchmark as I at 68, march onward to 83 and more! In short, when I grow up I want to be just like you!

I feel your frustration with the 28%/Palin thing. I work with two people who are partial to her and they are very educated. They think she is being unduly dumped upon. Wait a minute.

In comparison with, and not only with, Hilary Clinton, but with any of the nuns who taught me for 12 years, Palin is a poster child for social promotion throughout her academic “career”. Sister Mary Black & Decker (she who could really drill ya) would never let Palin – and the benighted 28% – get away with such sloppy thinking and speech. Sister Mary Yardstick would be constantly measuring her, not for perfection, but for some acceptable level of competency, such as what day of the week is it and is it or is it not a holy day of obligation?

I don’t argue with my coworkers. I’m here to earn a living and actually get something done and I can’t do that if I am holding up the progress of the business.

But I am a retired schoolteacher. Palin strikes me as a child who should have spent her entire K-12 schooling year round, as in summer school, until she got something right. I have never seen anyone who has refused to take responsibility for anything during the campaign, such as all the money spent on clothing for herself and her tribe. That amount of money equaled what my family lost from the retirement fund when the market tanked! She is constantly placing the blame on others such as in the Great Turkey Debacle. Someone is always setting her up! Talk about conspiracy theories! She’s the governor, for heaven’s sake! She should be able to call the shots and enforce them which would prevent all this “setting up”. The fact that she doesn’t even attempt to do that makes her, well, a sock puppet. Everyone else is predetermining her moves and thinking. She has no control over herself. (Maybe a knight in shining armor should ride up and rescue her?)

Just on those issues alone she would never cut it with me, or any of the dedicated nuns I knew back in the day.

Helen~
Keep on writing! Ignore the assholes, they mean nothing. America is finally waking up from the hellish nightmare we’ve been in for the last 8 years. 28% of the population still wants to hold on the the ASSumption that Bush is a good guy. Let them stay in the nightmare.
You are delightful and I am so glad to see that the “haters” of the world aren’t getting you down!
Love ya!!

I have my pie – pumpkin w/homemade whipped cream – and my coffee. Yes, particularly with breakfast, I would like more genteel language in the what I read, but ultimately, if a good point is to be made, use whatever words make it. I’ll keep coming back. Really!

I used to think it would be beneficial to read what the opposition was saying, but I discovered that, without even reading the blog, I can tell a Fox sponsored blog immediately by the comments. The comments at most of those blogs are bordering on illiterate, riddled with hate speech and only served to convince me that there is a reason I’m an us and they’re a them. Or, am I a them and they are the us’s. Anyway, as long as I am on the other side, it is all good.

I don’t often leave a comment – but I read your blog all the time and LOVE IT! I’m glad to hear someone with years of living behind them tell it like it is…the bitterness of Palin supporters is palpable where I live; they still like to mutter “Just wait until it is uncovered that Obama is not a US citizen.” What?!?!? Like you, I wish they’d come up with something better 🙂

Helen – FANTASTIC blog. I must admit I check here EVERY day and am always SO glad when there’s a new entry to read. You remind me of my grandma aLOT and I really enjoy reading your thoughts (you crack me UP!). Keep typing!!! I’ll keep coming back for more.

I adore your blog! I love the way you can take it as well as dish it out. That’s a talent that one has to practice over the years to perfect and you certainly get an A +. I’d be more inclined to tell them which planet to step off of and what they could do with their fingers on the way down.

Mrs. Palin is apparently still sailing on a “sugar high”. She hasn’t been in her state’s capitol since before McCain cynically selected her as his fluffer — er, running mate.
Now, she is off to Georgia to stump for Chambliss and meeting with numerous New York publishing houses regarding her memoirs along the way.
She probably won’t be in Juneau again until the state legislature is back in session in January. Then, the cold hard light of reality will shine on her once again as she is greeted by a huge budget deficit because of the decline in oil prices, etc. Then there’s that pesky little matter of per diems for living in her Wasilla house and reimbursement for her family’s travel expenses.
You are correct to advise Mrs. Palin to “sit down and shut up”. However, the self-absorbed little twit doesn’t have sufficient intellect to understand the wisdom of your advice.

Whew. Thanks for having us back in… needed a dose of your “sailor talk” after the last coupla days.
Angie- send your daughter to Juneau. We’ll give her her very own “Where’s Sarah?” button to wear . The gov spends as little time as she can here…

I don’t get to read all the comments here, so thanks for bringing them forward and analyzing them. In my mind, the trick is to allow yourself to step out of your box every so often and try to see things from the other person’s perspective. What has colored their view to make their beliefs so opposite to yours? I usually end up learning something about myself in the process. It is an interesting exercise all around.

It’s all quite fascinating and just good to keep the dialog going… Thanks for another thoughtful post. 🙂

I’m only thirty, so a wee little youngun, but the one thing I’ve realized is that even my (many) mistakes have made my life what it is today. While I sometimes find myself thinking “wish I hadn’t done that…” I have to shake it off, because if I hadn’t done those things, then what? Mistakes are what give us understanding and in the end, wisdom.

Only a moron could think that selfish, ignorant, bigoted, corrupt witch has any class. Don’t the Palin supporters realize she’s a user and not to be trusted? She’s in it for all she can get, as a Republican politician and as Alaska’s governor. She is not a compassionate Christian, she’s a power hungry despot. She’s abused her political positions, lied, race-baited, charged women for rape kits, and costs Alaskan taxpayers and Republican party supporters far more than what she’s worth. Every time she opens her mouth, she butchers the English language and annoys the majority of people with her screechy whine. I too, wish she would shut the hell up!

Tiny Story ~ My 17 year old daughter had always dreamed of moving to Juneau, Alaska after graduation from college.. that was until Sarah Palin came into the picture!! I owe thanks to Palin for turning my daughter completely off of her Alaskan quest!! *grin*

But I do enjoy your posts. I’m quite interested in your analogy between the current administration’s “if you disagree with me you’re not patriotic” and McCarthyism. Perhaps you’ll do a post on that topic?

Helen, I hope you get more comments supporting you than attacking you, because you are the awesome. (That’s bad grammar, but on purpose, which is how the kids are doing it these days).

It is unfortunate that the debate will, necessarily, remain one-sided, because there is no good argument to be made in favor of Sarah Palin or the socially conservative ideology she represents.

But might I suggest that you let it drop? The soft outer flesh of her support has been ripped away, leaving nothing but the hard bone behind. These people have no interest in intellectual debate, because they refuse to accept certain facts that make debate pointless: she is an unqualified, inelegant woman who spackles over her inadequacy with good looks and folksiness. If these people won’t accept that, then what are we even going to talk about?